RAFAEL BENITEZ claims his close working relationship with Lee Charnley is one of the key reasons why Newcastle United have stabilised so successfully following last season’s relegation to the Championship.

Charnley has been a divisive figure for the majority of his two-and-a-half years as managing director of the Magpies, with a number of the club’s fans regarding him as little more than a lapdog for owner Mike Ashley.

It was anticipated that the former club secretary’s position would be at risk in the wake of last season’s failure to remain in the top-flight, but he held on to his post in the summer, with Benitez understood to have been one of his staunchest supporters.

In the five months since Newcastle’s relegation was confirmed, Charnley has overseen the purchase of 12 new signings, as well as securing a profit of more than £30m from the sales of the likes of Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Sissoko and Papiss Cisse.

He has developed a close working relationship with Benitez, with the pair meeting at least two or three times a week at Newcastle’s Benton academy, and has clearly bought in to the new power structure that sees Benitez having assumed much more power than any of his immediate predecessors.

“I am happy with my relationship with Lee, and the structure we have in place,” said Benitez. “Every week, every month, every year, you try to improve something. You are always thinking, ‘If I can change this little thing, maybe it will improve this or that’.

“You are always looking at little things, or the way that certain departments operate, but it takes time to change things.

“There are a lot of good people here. They needed to have an idea to follow – now they have an idea, and a path to follow. I think everybody is more or less happy, but at the same time, they can give their opinions.

“It is not just the head of the departments that I am speaking to – I am asking for opinions all the time. Then you take everything on board, and decide which way you want to go. If we are winning, doing things properly, and treating people with respect, then things will be going well.”

Benitez’s immediate priority is to secure promotion back to the Premier League, and as he was speaking in his training-ground office last week, the Spaniard was flicking through a series of scouting reports on this weekend’s opponents, Brentford.

However, he is also allying the short-term requirements on the pitch to the longer-term projects he hopes will transform Newcastle’s prospects both on and off the field.

A review of academy operations is underway, with plans being formulated for an overhaul of facilities at the training ground. Benitez is also working with Charnley to help improve the club’s relationship with its supporters, the media and the local community.

“The present is the next game, Brentford, and we are already trying to analyse what we think they will do,” said Benitez. “The fans have to be confident that we are doing our jobs. But at the same time, we are also thinking about January, and even the season after that.

“We cannot lose our focus and our focus has to be the next game. We have a lot of good staff working, and they are all doing their jobs. We are concentrating on the present, but at the same time, having an eye on the future.

“We are really football-orientated in terms of trying to improve things on the pitch, and I don’t know if that has always been the same (in the past). But at the same time, I had a meeting with Lee this week where we were talking about the academy, scouting and people within the staff. We are trying to manage the football club in a way that everybody is expecting.”