Football
Dermot Corrigan, Madrid correspondent 6y

Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez: Managers need support from above

Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez has said the key to coaching a top team is for players to know the coach has the support of the club hierarchy.

Benitez had a fraught six months in charge at Real Madrid during 2015-16 season, clashing publicly with club captain Sergio Ramos and Cristiano Ronaldo and losing 4-0 at home to Barcelona.

Club president Florentino Perez was publicly supportive of the one time Blancos youth team player and coach until Benitez was replaced by Zinedine Zidane in early January 2016.

Speaking to France Football in an interview during which he discussed his relationship with Perez, Benitez said that if the manager does not have support in any confrontation with players the job becomes very difficult.

"Your job at a top club depends on the people above you," he said.

"If the directors support the coach, it is easy. If the directors support the players, then you have a big problem.

"If the players know the coach is supported by the board then instructions are followed without complaints. When they do not feel that there is this support, the coach is weakened."

Madrid-born Benitez said he was happy with the job he had done at the club.

"The problem with talking about Real Madrid is that my comments can be taken out of context, leading to pointless controversies," he said.

"All I can say about that is that at all clubs I have been at I left behind well coached teams."

The 57-year-old added that he felt "external pressures" had played a role in him losing his job at Madrid, intimating that Zidane had "followed the same principles" when he took over the team and had two years of great success.

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