Rafa refuses to apologise but says he is working hard for Chelsea FC
Rafa Benitez has refused requests from Chelsea supporters groups and fans alike to apologise for his Anti-Chelsea remarks when working for Rival football club, Liverpool FC, but still claims he will win over the Stamford Bridge faithful.
Rafa has claimed that he will defend his club, and that this is now his club and would defend Chelsea in a similar way.
Benitez said: “We can analyse what I said and didn’t say. We can’t be checking if it’s true or not.
“I was praising the fans of my club, my team. But I’m here now, it’s my club, and I will do my best for them.
“That’s my explanation, very easy and very simple. I will try to defend my club, and this is now my club.
“I know how the fans feel. I understand how they feel.
“It’s not a situation we can change in one minute. But working hard, winning games, I can improve it. Starting with Fulham.
“If I have a player that doesn’t have the support of the fans, I’d tell him to stay focused and try to do his job, to not be distracted and concentrate on his football.
“I understand the feelings of the fans because of my time at Liverpool, where we had rivalry and it was quite difficult.
“But at the same time I will try to prove I’m here for the right reasons. We want to win, and we can do that together. I’ll try and improve players and it’ll be easier to win games and bring the fans back.”
Asked if he hoped for a kinder reception before Wednesday’s home clash with their West London rivals, Benitez added: “To be fair, I don’t know.
“But I can say that since coming here I’ve worked really hard, coming in at 8.30am and leaving at 8.30 at night, doing my job, talking to players and staff and trying to be ready for the game.
“The only thing I can do is try and win their trust working hard and doing my best.
“I can’t worry if I’m upset or not. If it was a player, I’d be telling him to concentrate on his job. The best way to change things is to win games.”
He says we can’t check if what he apparently said is true or not, but his statement from that day is now on a plaque placed at Liverpool’s training ground. We do need to come together as a team though, and back our players on the pitch. I hate Rafa as much as the rest of you but I don’t want Chelsea FC to suffer. Come on you blues.
Please, Let every Chelsea fan try their best to forget the past and give Benitez the support he needs in order to move the club forward.I believe that he deserved to be given a chance after all they say, that one’s enemy may turn out to be his/her best friend. Benitez has just identified one thing that was missing in Torres/some Chelsea players,which I mentioned a few days before their last match with RDM,that was physical Strength. They’re too light weighted on the ball and with this deficiency you cannot truly play the kind of attacking football Chelsea were anticipating. Quite a good number of the players need to do some serious push up training not just Torres as Rafa has just commented.They need this and other serious training to build their physique on the ball,so as not to be dispossess too easily when the ball is in their possession,yes they lacked this that was why they’re easily dispossessed and too quick to go down on the ground,most refs know that football is a game of physical contact and will not easily award fouls in your favors just simply because you went down upon a contact.