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News
Jesus Gamez’s criticises Rafa Benitez when reflecting on poor Newcastle spell
Jesus Gamez has launched a stunning attack on Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez just months after leaving the club. The Spaniard spent two years at St James Park, but he made only seven league appearances during that time.
In an interview with , he said the following about Benitez, who is thought to be popular with both Newcastle players and supporters:
“He is a person that I do not like talking about because he did not contribute anything to me in these two years and I have nothing to say about him.”
He goes on to label Benitez ‘selfish’, which underlines the lack of feeling he has towards his former boss. It is surprising to see such criticism labelled at the Newcastle manager, as it is thought that he has done a great job since taking over at St James’ Park.
These comments come at a bad time for Benitez, as his team have taken only two points from their opening six Premier League matches.
During this spell, the reported that there was a training ground fallout over tactics between Benitez and his club captain Jamaal Lascelles ahead of the Chelsea game. At the time, this was written off as a minor incident.
However, alongside Gamez’s comments, it could show that Benitez doesn’t have the full respect or trust of the dressing room.
There are a lot of problems at Newcastle this season. The most notable being the damaged relationship between Benitez and owner Mike Ashley.
Throughout the discussion in the media, it is often stated that the Magpies don’t deserve a manager of Benitez’s ilk and that they are lucky to have him. However, the comments from Gamez suggest that the former Liverpool boss shouldn’t be beyond criticism and has made mistakes in the role.