Five reasons why Rafa is still the gaffer at Newcastle United

Even when he hinted at a reluctance to trigger his release clause in the wake of the final-game win over Spurs, there was still a nagging fear that he would change his mind.

Benitez is a Champions League winner who spent the first half of last season in charge of Real Madrid, yet when the new campaign begins in August, he will find himself presiding over a club in the Championship.

So after confirmation of his new three-year deal yesterday afternoon, what has persuaded him to remain at St James’ Park despite Newcastle’s drop into the second tier?

He has enjoyed his time so far and still sees great potential 

When Benitez first agreed to replace Steve McClaren, he regarded Newcastle as one of English football’s ‘sleeping giants’; for all that he was unable to keep the club in the top-flight earlier this month, he has seen nothing to make him change his mind.

The short-term imperative is to lead the Magpies back into the top-flight at the first time of asking, but beyond that, Benitez sees no reason why the club cannot quickly re-establish themselves in the upper echelons of the top-flight and potentially reclaim a place in Europe.

That might seem fanciful when next season’s schedule will feature trips to Rotherham and Burton, but having managed at six different clubs in the last six years, the 56-year-old is keen to tackle a long-term project rather than attempt another short-term fix.

The response of the Newcastle fans to his efforts so far has also been a crucial factor. Benitez has been genuinely surprised by just how positively he has been received despite his failure to secure survival, and the emotional scenes that accompanied the final-day win over Spurs have figured prominently in his thoughts in the last two weeks.

He has received some crucial financial guarantees from Mike Ashley 

Benitez would not have agreed to remain had he been told he would have to sell all of his leading assets this summer, but while he accepts the need to reduce the overall budget in the wake of relegation, he has been reassured that Newcastle will be the biggest spenders in the Championship next season.

His St James’ Park meeting with Mike Ashley in the immediate aftermath of the final home game was crucial in that respect, with the Newcastle owner quickly promising that he would not be insisting on a wholesale dismantling of the current squad.

Some big-name players will leave, but Benitez is likely to have concerns over their ability to impress in the Championship anyway. It is hard to see Georginio Wijnaldum or Moussa Sissoko in particular still playing in a Newcastle shirt beyond August.

Crucially, though, Benitez has been promised funds to sign players who should succeed in the second tier, hence the suggestions of an early interest in Lee Tomlin and Steven Caulker.

He has also been guaranteed complete control

Benitez is well aware of the history of his predecessors at St James’. He knows of Alan Pardew’s failure to convince those above him to sign a number of his targets, and is also well versed in Steve McClaren’s struggles to persuade his fellow board members to recruit domestic players last summer.

He would have walked away last week had he not received cast-iron guarantees that things will change on his watch. Instead of being a subordinate, he will be the undisputed head of the organisation.

That will mean a vastly-reduced role for chief scout Graham Carr, whose influence has extended way beyond the initial scouting of players. It will also see managing director Lee Charnley have much less involvement in the recruitment process.

Benitez will be given permission to restructure the backroom set-up at St James’ and is expected to make a couple of key appointments to the recruitment team. Crucially, he will remain a ‘manager’ rather than a ‘head coach’.

Money talks - and he will be the highest-paid championship manager ever

Benitez’s initial contract was reported to be worth around £5m-a-year. Remarkably, that sum will not be cut even though he is now managing in the second tier.

That reflects Ashley’s faith in his ability, and is a remarkable vote of confidence given that Newcastle’s total income is set to fall to around £40m in the club’s first season in the Championship.

Benitez is an extremely wealthy man, and the financial implications of his new deal are not the main factor behind his decision to remain on Tyneside. To suggest they are irrelevant, though, is nonsense.

How many people would willingly walk away from a £5m-a-year position without something else to go into? If he sees out his three-year contract, Benitez will have earned at least £15m. That is hardly inconsequential.

He didn't receive any particularly attractive offers from elsewhere

Benitez has been open about his intentions from the minute Newcastle’s relegation was confirmed. Had he received a lucrative offer from elsewhere in the last fortnight, he would not have agreed to remain.

Everton and Valencia were both linked with a possible move, and either might have been attractive had it come to fruition. But the former decided appointing a Champions League winner with Liverpool was a line that was not worth crossing, while the latter stuck with Pako Ayesteran, who worked with Benitez at Anfield.

There was interest in the Spaniard from a couple of other clubs in La Liga, but the only formal offers came from clubs in Turkey and China.

They were financially lucrative, but with Benitez’s family happily settled on the Wirral, there was never going to be any chance of him moving so far afield. Their loss was Newcastle’s gain.