A reporter has claimed that Mike Ashley spoke directly with Rafael Benítez following their 1-0 Premier League loss to Brighton on Saturday, outlining his plans going forward.
The abject defeat saw a creatively barren Magpies side slump to the foot of the table with just two points from their opening nine matches. Brighton inflicting the seventh defeat of the season upon Benítez's side, who are in real danger of being sucked back into the Championship if they are unable to weather the storm and power back up the table.
Writing for the Chronicle, chief sports writer Lee Ryder claimed Ashley had spoken directly with the former Liverpool manager after the game, and stated: "It will be business as usual for Rafa Benítez at Newcastle United this week - despite a rare post-match visit from Mike Ashley after the loss to Brighton."
"As it stands, it appears that Ashley is prepared to give Benítez more tie to turn the situation around at United. There will be no knee-jerk reaction after the run of defeats continued. In fact, Benítez held a training session on Sunday morning at Benton and has started work on trying to fix things ahead of the trip to Southampton immediately."
Benítez remains a popular figure among Magpies fans, with the general consensus being that the lack of investment from Ashley is the clubs real problem, rather than poor management from the head coach. After a summer of minimal transfer activity, the 58-year-old will be desperate to compete in the January transfer window and improve his threadbare side.
In other news, Sky Sports pundit Jamie Redknapp claimed he was shocked to see Newcastle loan striker Dwight Gayle to Championship side West Bromwich Albion at the start of the season. The former Liverpool midfielder noted that the forward has scored eight goals in his last ten matches, while
Source: 90min
