October 15, (THEWILL) – Brendan Rodgers and Rafa Benitez have ruled themselves out of contention to take over as Newcastle United manager.
The Magpies have not fired current manager Steve Bruce yet, but it is widely expected that he will be fired after his 1,000th Premier League game against Tottenham on Sunday.
Following the completion of a takeover led by a consortium made up of PCP Capital Partners, David and Simon Reuben, and Saudi Arabia’s Public Investment Fund, many names have been linked with the St James’ Park hot seat, but it is unclear at this time whether the club will stick with current Newcastle coach Graeme Jones on an interim basis once Bruce is dismissed.
Rodgers and Benitez were reportedly two candidates for the job, according to bookmakers and the press, but both have distanced themselves from relocating to the North East, despite the lucrative offer.
Rodgers stated the following in his press conference ahead of Leicester’s match against Manchester United on Saturday: “I’m 100 per cent committed. I’ve got a contract until 2025. I absolutely love being here and I’m fortunate.
“I’ve got a great chief executive who runs the club, a director of football who I’ve got a really close relationship with and a group of players I really enjoy working with. We have an infrastructure that allows us to really compete. As long as they don’t want to move me on, I’m very happy here.
“I’ve seen all the reports and they don’t help anyone. It’s unfortunate, it’s been the type of week I don’t like in the modern game. All the managers and coaches work hard to do the best for their clubs and this sort of gossip goes around which can destabilise supporters. It doesn’t benefit anyone at all.”
Benitez, on the other hand, is a former Newcastle manager who led the club for three years between 2016 and 2019. The Spaniard is a fan favourite, but he, too, has dismissed the possibility of returning to the club, stating that he is fully committed to his current club, Everton.
“I think it’s not fair to talk too much about that,” Benitez remarked to the media when asked about being linked with a return. “I am the Everton manager now, I am focused on that and I wish them all the best.
When pressed further, Benitez added: “I can tell you that I have a lot of friends and they were asking me the same question, a lot of messages. From day one, when I was talking to the board here, they didn’t need to worry about that because I decided to stay here, I am really happy.
“It’s just [a case] of trying to improve everything I can here, focus, and again I will say, wishing them all the best, but this time when I decide to stay here, I keep my word and continue working here.”
Jude Obafemi is a versatile senior Correspondent at THEWILL Newspapers, excelling in sourcing, researching, and delivering sports news stories for both print and digital publications.
