Newcastle United

Rafael Benitez: 'Easier to get England job than leading Premier League role'

By Giuseppe Labellarte, Reporter | 29 October 2017

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez believes that an English manager is more likely to get the England job than a role at a leading Premier League club.

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has claimed that an English manager is more likely to get the England job than a role at a leading Premier League club.

Neither Chelsea nor Arsenal have employed an Englishman as manager full-time in more than 20 years, and it has been more than a decade since Manchester City appointed an English boss on a full-time basis.

Ron Atkinson was Manchester United's most recent English manager, leaving Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur as the only members of the top six to employ an Englishman during the past seven years.

Benitez told Sky Sports News: "The England manager's job is a difficult job, but you have more chances to get the job because you are English.

"The top six jobs, it is different because you have foreign owners spending a lot of money, and what they want is the best. That doesn't have to be English, just the best.

"In England, I know you talk about having an English manager. You have four or five options and it is easier than getting a job in the top six."

Spaniard Benitez, who has managed both Liverpool and Chelsea, takes Newcastle to Burnley for Monday's match at Turf Moor.