Never write off Rafa Benitez, the manager returning to Chelsea and the scene of his remarkable recovery

Newcastle visit Stamford Bridge on Saturday struggling and in desperate need of points – but it was at Chelsea that Benitez demonstrated his unbreakable will to succeed

Benitez recovered from the brink of losing his job to win the Europa League (Getty)

The old press room at the Riverside Stadium was cramped and claustrophobic. There was always a rush to get a seat and then a rush to get out, but on the night of February 27 2013, the manager of Chelsea was in no hurry to go anywhere.

Rafa Benitez had had enough. His appointment at Stamford Bridge, succeeding Roberto Di Matteo, was a surprise (his previous with Jose Mourinho perhaps key), but the level of hostility had still come as a shock. Chelsea fans took banners to mock their own manager. “Rafa out fact,” read one. A young fan in a jester’s hat held a handwritten bedsheet at Stamford Bridge that read simply “Rafa out”.

It had been a comfortable 2-0 victory over Middlesbrough to reach the quarter-final of the FA Cup that evening. Fernando Torres and Victor Moses scored but that would become quickly forgotten.

Benitez might not quite have scaled the heights of his attack on Sir Alex Ferguson when he was in charge at Liverpool, but it was not far off. It was a premeditated diatribe on the abuse he had faced from the support at Chelsea.

“A group of fans, they are not doing any favours for the team when they are singing and wasting time preparing banners,” he said.

“It’s because someone made a mistake. They put my title as interim manager, and I will leave at the end of the season, so they don’t need to waste time with me. They have to concentrate on supporting the team, that’s what they have to do.

“In the end, they are not doing any favours to the club, to the rest of the fans and to the players. Every game they continue singing and they continue preparing banners, they are wasting time.”

The Newcastle manager is aiming to end their poor run (Getty)

He was asked if the negativity from the club’s support would stop Chelsea making the top four.

“I will do my job,” he replied. “I will try to do my best but again I will say, it would be easier to go to Stamford Bridge and have them supporting the team instead of thinking about me.

“I am the manager and I will be the manager until the last minute until someone decides. I did it for 26 years with nine titles and a lot of trophies in different countries. I have enough experience, so if they want to waste time singing and preparing banners, they have to take responsibility, too.”

It still feels extraordinary and largely unprecedented in the modern era of Premier League football. There were experienced football reporters in that room. “He’ll be gone by the end of the week,” said one.

The following day, the Chelsea chief executive Ron Gourlay, the man who had brought the curtain down on the career of those who had preceded Benitez, arrived at the club’s training ground, after Benitez. Even the technical director Michael Emenalo was there to oversee a light training session. Benitez acted as if nothing had happened. The players assumed another manager was departing. It did not happen.

Instead, of the 11 following Premier League games, Chelsea and Benitez won eight, drew two and lost one, finishing third and automatically qualifying for the Champions League. They reached the semi-final of both the FA and League Cup and then, in a final hurrah, on May 15, beat Benfica to win the Europa League.

It is a reminder of Benitez’s resolve. It is a reminder not to write him off.

On Saturday he returns to the Bridge for the first time since his interim contract expired (he is still frustrated by that title). Napoli and Real Madrid followed his time at Chelsea, so he could perhaps not have foreseen going back with a newly-promoted side struggling for form and without the investment he had wished for.

He still feels strongly that there should have been more spent in the summer, both in transfer fees and salaries, but that delicate balancing act of protecting his own position and also the team’s belief is not easy. Newcastle’s spirit saw them recover from two goals down to draw at West Bromwich Albion in mid-week to avoid a fifth successive defeat.

He has faced his biggest questioning yet from Newcastle supporters over his decision to prefer the Spanish forward Joselu to Aleksandar Mitrovic, with private doubts over the player’s stamina. Injuries to Jamaal Lascelles, Paul Dummett, Christian Atsu and the recently returned Mikel Merino have not helped a season that is now balanced precariously.

Perhaps more than anything is the underestimation of Benitez’s resolve, which is now needed at Newcastle. The Spaniard lost both of his first two managerial positions, at Real Valladolid and Osasuna, before leading the minnows Extremadura to the Primera Liga.

Mourinho and Benitez go head to head this weekend (Independent)

When Gourlay arrived at Chelsea’s training ground, the players had expected Benitez to be sacked. There followed an argument between the Spaniard and John Terry, who was not playing.

When Chelsea dramatically won the Europa League, Benitez became only the second manager to win the competition (formerly the Uefa Cup) with two different sides and David Luiz said of a man who appeared beaten less than three months earlier: “Many people said bad things about him this year, but he is a professional guy with a lot of character and he deserves a title this season. It is fantastic for him.

“He changed some of our positions in the second half (of the final). That’s why we played better and won the title. He spoke a lot to us to change the intensity. He is a fantastic coach, I am so happy with this because he helped me a lot, he taught me many things this year.”

It is a reminder, if anyone at Stamford Bridge needs it, about the strength and desire of Benitez to turn a situation around.