Fans turn up heat on Rafael Benitez as Chelsea bid for Jack Butland

I'm not being axed says Spaniard as supporters launch online protest
1/2
Simon Johnson29 January 2013

Rafael Benitez today insisted he is not on the verge of losing his job at Chelsea and is unconcerned by fans starting a petition to prevent him landing the job full time.

Reports today claimed senior officials at Stamford Bridge were so angry with the 2-2 FA Cup fourth-round draw at Brentford that they were considering firing the interim coach just two months after he replaced Roberto di Matteo.

Chelsea and Benitez denied the speculation but fans are turning up the heat with a campaign to oust the manager in the summer.

The Blues’ next game is at Reading in the Premier League tomorrow and the Spaniard said: “My position is exactly the same. I was speaking about football with [technical director] Michael Emenalo this morning, as normal.

“I know there are things around but, inside, we’re training well, preparing for the games properly and we think we’re ready.

“I will try to do my job as well as I can and try to do my best every game. I cannot lose my focus. My focus is to improve the team, keep the players believing they can win, as we did against Arsenal.”

Chelsea have submitted an official approach for Birmingham goalkeeper Jack Butland ahead of Thursday’s 11pm transfer deadline but the talk among fans today is the petition on the website change.org demanding owner Roman Abramovich replaces Benitez in the summer.

More than 2,000 people have signed the petition which is accompanied by a statement, saying: “The supporters are the lifeblood and soul of any football club. As supporters, we had made it abundantly clear that Rafael Benitez was not wanted but the board rode roughshod over supporters’ wishes, sacking a Chelsea legend who had delivered us the European Cup and the FA Cup just months before in the process.

“Let’s look at the facts: We lost the World Club Cup to a Corinthians team that we could and should have beaten. We went out of the Capital One Cup with barely a whimper.

“We are nine points further down in the Premier League than we were when Rafael Benitez was employed. Our League form (including losing at home to QPR and away to West Ham) is worse than the blip that got Di Matteo sacked.

“Baffling tactics, including like for like swaps for defenders when we are losing, and a complete inability to change the game have become the hallmark of our interim manager.”

However, asked if the fans’ views were an unwelcome distraction, Benitez said: “No. I will try to win. I like to manage a top side and this is a top side. I will try to win.”

Captain John Terry accused his team-mates of lacking fight, while Brentford striker Clayton Donaldson also questioned their lack of unity on Sunday.

But Benitez said: “You can talk with players and they are quite happy in terms of what we’re doing in training, how we’re preparing.

“I can understand the frustration when we cannot win. But nine days ago everybody was happy after the Arsenal game. We have to win together. When everyone’s here [Victor Moses and John Obi Mikel are at the African Cup of Nations] and we can manage in a different way, it’ll be easier to win games in a row as we did before.”

Terry told his team-mates their performances have not been good enough and demanded they raise their game. The defender made his first start for 11 weeks against Brentford having recovered from a knee injury and believes the players, rather than Benitez, must take the blame for their below-par displays.

He said: “We need to liven up a bit and realise the importance to the fans and the club. Champions League football is a must next season.

“We saw last season, going to the Champions League Final suffering with all the extra games and stuff like that, we ended up finishing sixth in the League.

“It’s difficult but we have a squad and it’s down to the players who come in to rotate and play well.”

Benitez’s task at Reading tomorrow has been made harder with first-choice keeper Petr Cech (calf) and utility player David Luiz (ankle) ruled out.

Cech’s injury highlights the goalkeeping problem at the Bridge and explains the club’s interest in Butland.

Birmingham’s financial problems mean they are open to offers for most of their players and Butland is their prize asset. Chelsea only have Ross Turnbull and Hilario as cover for Cech, who also missed the Brentford match.

Turnbull’s performance convinced Chelsea to move for Butland, although the England international would prefer to to join a club where he is guaranteed first-team football.

If Chelsea land the 19-year-old, who was the GB keeper during the Olympics and made his England debut against Italy this season, the future of Thibaut Courtois will be thrown into doubt. The Belgian is on loan at Atletico Madrid and is a target for Barcelona.

Meanwhile, Chelsea are expected to lodge an appeal against the Football Association’s decision to charge Eden Hazard with misconduct for his clash with a ballboy at Swansea. The midfielder is serving a three-game ban but the FA want to punish him further.

Create a FREE account to continue reading

eros

Registration is a free and easy way to support our journalism.

Join our community where you can: comment on stories; sign up to newsletters; enter competitions and access content on our app.

Your email address

Must be at least 6 characters, include an upper and lower case character and a number

You must be at least 18 years old to create an account

* Required fields

Already have an account? SIGN IN

By clicking Create Account you confirm that your data has been entered correctly and you have read and agree to our Terms of use , Cookie policy and Privacy policy .

This site is protected by reCAPTCHA and the Google Privacy Policy and Terms of Service apply.

Thank you for registering

Please refresh the page or navigate to another page on the site to be automatically logged in