Benitez unfazed by short-term deal

Rafael Benitez claims he is not concerned about only being offered a seven-month contract to take charge of Chelsea.

Last Updated: 22/11/12 at 18:50 Post Comment   

Latest Articles

Ramsden hopes McCall stays on

Post comment

Simon Ramsden is desperate to see boss Stuart McCall remain at Motherwell after committing his own future to the club.

Allardyce keen to keep Carroll

Post comment

West Ham manager Sam Allardyce has confirmed he is keen to retain the services of on-loan striker Andy Carroll.

All Articles

Benitez: Unveiled as Chelsea manager

Benitez: Unveiled as Chelsea manager

The Spaniard has been named as interim coach at Stamford Bridge until the end of the season following the departure of Roberto Di Matteo.

Benitez, who revealed he had not yet met personally with owner Roman Abramovich, said at his unveiling on Thursday: "For me the most important thing is I am here because I want to be here. It's a massive club, a club which allows me to fight for trophies.

"I was looking for the right opportunity, I was looking for a top side who can fight for trophies.

"I don't care about the short-term (deal), what I have in my head is to win every game. We have five trophies to fight for. We will see what happens, in seven months we can win some trophies."

The former Inter Milan boss, who also strongly hinted John Terry would stay on as captain, said he was not put off by talk he is simply keeping the hot-seat warm for Pep Guardiola.

"I have a very good relationship with Guardiola," he added. "He is a great manager, what will happen in future I don't know.

"When you analyse why go to a top side for seven months - it's because you can win trophies."

Asked if he thought he would still be in the job in a year's time, Benitez said: "If I do things properly I will be happy with trophies and then we will see."

Benitez said he was impressed when he met the squad today.

He said: "My experience is I went to the training session today, everything was fine, they worked really well, I didn't see any problems."

On Fernando Torres, whom he worked with at Liverpool, he said: "I was talking with him like the other players and his attitude was really good."

Benitez doesn't believe the Chelsea fans should be opposed to his appointment, despite the run-ins he had with the club when Liverpool manager.

Benitez had a number of Champions League showdowns with Jose Mourinho's Chelsea when Liverpool manager and some of his comments at the time antagonised the Blues fans.

But he said: "I want to be honest, if I say this or that, I have to analyse the context.

"We were playing against Chelsea in the semi-finals of the Champions League.

"If I am a fan I want to see the manager fighting for my club. I don't see this as a lack of respect for Chelsea's fans, just a manager defending his team."

He added: "I like to do things in the right way for the fans.

"The fans and manager want to win every single game, nobody wants to win more than than fans and manager.

"At the end I think that they will be pleased."


Click here for completely free £10 bet with Sky Bet & £5 free every week


Football365 Facebook Fan Page

The Football365 fan page is a great place to meet like minded people, have football related discussions and make new friends.

Footer 365

Jones: No tension at Stoke

Stoke striker Kenwyne Jones has apologised to Glenn Whelan after smashing his car windscreen in a mistaken act of retribution for a prank.

Hodgson plea for clubs' help

England boss Roy Hodgson has called for Manchester City and Tottenham to follow Chelsea's lead and release players early.

Bundesliga: Fortuna down in dramatic finale as Hoffenheim and Augsburg escape

Fortuna Dusseldorf were relegated from the Bundesliga as Hoffenheim and Augsburg staged final-day escape acts.

Mail Box

James Collins Is Only 29. Tough Paper Round

He is one of a number of solid shouts for players that look old before their time. We also have the final words on lovely D-Beck and a rejection of end of season playoffs...

Without Posh, Becks Could Have Been Scholes

That's one opinion, but others give their thanks to the man. We also have ideas for a relegation playoff, happy memories of the season and a defence of Liverpool's campaign...

© 2013 British Sky Broadcasting Ltd. All Rights Reserved