Rafa Benitez made no secret of his unease at the way his transfer targets were not matched during the summer months.
A man like Benitez makes his decisions first and foremost on football.
A meticulous man, he analyses every part of the dilemma before making a decision.
Is the squad good enough to survive? But will survival be enough to fulfil his desires? And what will happen in the next window?
In the end, he decided that Tyneside was the place for him.
It’s easy to say that the affiliation with the fans also played a big part in brushing the disappointment under the carpet, but for Benitez that relationship is key.
The rhetoric between the fans is perhaps only second to the element of trust that needs to exist between a manager like Benitez and the board - something that was seriously tested in the summer.
The news that the club is up for sale and the fact that Amanda Staveley appears a serious contender to take it off Mike Ashley’s hands has only piqued Benitez’s interest even more.
But in a recent interview with Italian outlet La Repubblica, Benitez gave an interesting insight in to how important that trust is, revealing that he’s walked away from jobs before when the trust does indeed disappear.
While at Napoli relations became strained especially over the future of Pepe Reina - ironically the same player that Benitez wanted this summer on Tyneside and whose non-arrival threatened to derail the after party of the Championship winning season.
“The real error was made [at Napoli] at the start on the transfer campaign. All we had to do was buy one player, or at least keep hold of him. I am referring to our goalkeeper, who was also the leader of the squad. History proved me right, as Reina did return to Napoli and is once again making the difference.
“In order to work well together, you need to all believe 100 per cent. It was the right moment to change, for both me and the club. My time at Napoli had ended and I would’ve left anyway, regardless of the Real Madrid offer.”
The failure to sign Reina appeared to show a unwillingness by the club to back Benitez’s ethos, something which has an eerily familiar ring to the transfer debacle of this summer.
But what was difference at Newcastle that persuaded him to stay? You can bet that being close to his family played a big part as did the words from his family, pointing out that Benitez would struggle to find a crowd that backs him like the Tyneside faithful.
And there is the key. The fans. The trust may have ebbed way with the board but the relationship with the fans - the passion and commitment - was a major asset just as it will be for any new owner.
“At Newcastle I’m fine, the environment is with us at 100 per cent, and the company follows me, even though I could not fully satisfy myself in the market,” he said.
“We lack a bit of quality, but we are a very balanced team. Our goal in the immediate instant is survival, then perhaps the possibility of opening a cycle [of success]: I see this in my future.
“We won the Championship, the B Series, and now we’re seventh in the standings, with the youngest team in the English championship and the company on sale. Not bad, in short.”
For Benitez everything is in place for a bright future, he just now wants the backing and freedom to achieve the dreams of the fans as well as own desire to be successful at St James' Park.