Rafa Benitez Insists He Does Not Regret Staying at Newcastle After 'Mistakes' of Transfer Window

Rafa Benitez has insisted that does not regret staying at Newcastle despite his disappointment at the club's transfer business last summer.

The Spaniard was left frustrated by the Magpies' inactivity, and repeatedly bemoaned the lack of strength in depth of his squad.

Benitez has seen his side fall to six defeats in their last seven games, but he has stressed that he is content with life at Newcastle.

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“In terms of experience and what I was expecting from the fans, the city, everybody, it’s fine," he told the Chronicle.

“I was surprised what we did in August but I tried to explain why I was surprised, and when I talked with Lee [Charnley], I think he knows my feelings.

“And now it’s just trying to improve a team, where we have a lot of good players working really hard. It’s just trying to give them advice and have a positive influence and hope they will learn quickly.

“The other day I was saying to one player: ‘Look at this.’ And he was saying: ‘But it doesn’t matter.’ Then you see the clips and they go, ‘oh’, and change. They cannot see some things that you can see because you have this experience. And then you try to give them this advice.

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“It is like when you are talking to your son, or in my case my daughter, but still she is making the same mistakes. So they need two or three times to understand.”

He added: “When I decided to stay here in the Championship, that was a big decision.

“I was thinking this is a top side that can do well, just changing things. We had to change things. Then we won the Championship, we were promoted and I was expecting everything would be right in one way.

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“Now I have to be realistic and manage what we have. If I start making mistakes and changing everything, maybe if we lose, it might be that I change 10 players and change the formation and we lose, you will say: ‘Rafa has lost control, power or is cracking up.’

“But I will not do that.”