Former Newcastle Goalkeeper Shay Given Says Rafa Benitez & Mike Ashley 'Don't Speak Anymore'

Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shay Given has revealed that manager Rafa Benitez and chairman Mike Ashley are no longer on speaking terms.

The Spanish coach has stressed throughout the summer of the need for the club to bring in more players having returned to the Premier League, but Ashley has remained reluctant to spend big.

And Given has claimed that there is an increasing disparity between manager and chairman that is doing more harm than good at St James' Park.

"Rafa and Mike need to get their heads together and move the club forward," he told the Mirror Football Podcast.

"By my accounts, people are telling me that they don't even speak any more. Lee Charnley is now the go-between, between Ashley and Rafa. That's not an ideal situation. You don't want to hear those things as a player.

"The squad can feel undermined if the club are always linked with other players. Rafa is saying they're not good enough to stay in the division, so it seems as if all is not going accordingly up there."

David Rogers/GettyImages

Newcastle have been beaten in both of their opening Premier League games, against Tottenham and Huddersfield respectively, and Benitez has once again spoken of the importance of signing new players.

“We have a different situation to other clubs,” he said, quoted by The Times. “The transfer window is open, but we were coming from the Championship and when we were in the Championship we knew we had to sign players for the Championship. 

"Now we have to move some players. We have to wait until September 1 and we know things will be different.

“When you have so many days and weeks and so many players around, it is not easy. We have players who we know will leave, but they are still around. That is not easy. Some teams need two or three players because they were already in the Premier League, but we are coming from the Championship and need more players."