Rafa Benitez will not walk out on Newcastle United .
That is the opinion of ex-United midfielder Jermaine Jenas, who sees Benitez as a man of honour who retains a “passion” for Newcastle.
Benitez was back at work on the training ground today after a week recuperating from a hernia operation and will take his first session with the players since the disappointment of transfer deadline day, which led to a fresh round of speculation about his future.
Having missed his press conference last week, Benitez is yet to say anything about that but his team won 1-0 at Swansea on Sunday to lift them to tenth in the nascent Premier League table.
And while United fans will no doubt fret about the Spaniard’s future for as long as the tension remains, Jenas is confident Benitez won’t leave.
“I just think if you’re going to walk, why didn’t you just walk last year when you were in the Championship?” the BT Sport pundit told the Daily Star.
“It doesn’t make sense, this is Benitez, he will have had places to go. He doesn’t seem happy but I don’t have him down as a walker.
“I think he really does feel a passion for the club but I think he feels let down.”
Jenas was at United under Sir Bobby Robson when the club was competing in the top half of the Premier League regularly – a far cry from recent years under the stewardship of Mike Ashley.
“The fact they’ve gone from the players that they had then to what they’ve got now, I just look at the club and think, how does that actually happen?” said Jenas.
“I can’t get my head round how it happens. But then I think about the position I was in and the reasons why I left. And those were the reasons.
“I thought, ‘I’m not going to develop as a player here, I’m not going to get any better, I’m not going to win anything, I’m not gonna play for England if I stay here’.
“Unfortunately that’s something that hopefully the club get rid of soon, because it’s an incredible club when the place is bouncing.”
The only caveat offered by the ex-United man is the situation at West Ham.
The pressure was eased on Slaven Bilic somewhat by the 2-0 win over Huddersfield but having survived a winless start to the Premier League, the Hammers boss is still not out of the woods yet.
Benitez – having come close to joining West Ham before – is the favourite to take over if that happens.
“There’s one situation that’s worrying me a little and that’s Slaven Bilic,” he added.
“I think we all know football too well now and how the system works so it wouldn’t surprise me if there’s conversations been put in place.”