RAFAEL BENITEZ celebrates his first anniversary as Newcastle United manager today - and claims the last 12 months have been the closest he has come to experiencing the same emotions he felt when he was leading Liverpool.

Benitez took charge of Newcastle on March 11, 2016, with his first game as manager coming three days later as the Magpies suffered a 1-0 defeat to the eventual champions, Leicester City.

A lot has happened since then, with Benitez experiencing relegation to the Championship and overseeing the subsequent rebuilding job that sees Newcastle three points clear at the top of the table ahead of this afternoon’s home game with Fulham.

The Spaniard could have walked away when the Magpies dropped into the second tier, but his decision to remain on Tyneside immediately endeared him to the Tyneside fans. That love affair has become even more intense in the last seven months, and Benitez freely admits Newcastle now rival Liverpool when it comes to his footballing affections.

The 56-year-old will forever be associated with Anfield after guiding Liverpool to Champions League glory in Istanbul, and remains a regular visitor to Merseyside as his family continue to be based on the Wirral.

Since leaving Liverpool, he has managed at Inter Milan, Chelsea, Napoli and Real Madrid, but it is only since moving to Tyneside that he has experienced anything to rival what he encountered at Anfield.

“Newcastle is more similar to Liverpool than anywhere else I have been,” said Benitez. “It is very similar in a lot of things.

“The main similarity between Scousers and Geordies is that if they trust you, they will support you to the end. I can see and feel those similarities.

“I am a professional and I want to do things properly. When I go for a job anywhere, I put passion into it. They appreciate that. The Geordies, our fans, can see we decided to stay after relegation. It proves you try to do your best.

“I was at Liverpool for six years and we won the Champions League in the first year and played in the final of the Carling Cup at this time, so the adoration was growing and growing.

“After, we were in another final, so we had won four titles and three finals at Liverpool, and semi-finals or whatever, so that was massive. It’s very similar here, so hopefully we can do well and we will have the same number of years and trophies.”

When Benitez arrived at Newcastle, he inherited a team, and a club, in crisis. On the pitch, results were catastrophic, while off it, the Steve McClaren era had resulted in a growing divide between the club and its fan base.

Benitez has successfully repaired that relationship, and while there were jitters in January when Mike Ashley attempted to reassert his control of transfer dealings, the current campaign has been notable for the lack of crises and off-field dramas.

Whether that holds beyond the summer, in the event of promotion, remains to be seen, with Benitez sure to demand significant investment to enable Newcastle to compete in the Premier League.

For now though, the prevailing mood is one of untainted optimism, and Benitez does not completely reject the notion that relegation could actually have been beneficial.

“Obviously, I would say no (when asked if relegation was a good thing),” he said. “But I understand why (some fans would think so).

“When you are in shock, you realise you have to change something. Could we have done that without being in the Championship? Maybe, but it could have been more difficult.

“In the end, we are where we are. We are moving in the right direction, but we have to make sure we continue moving as fast as we can. And if we have to change things, we will do that.”

As his anniversary passes, Benitez is looking to the future, and it is clear he envisages further significant change as he looks to ensure the mistakes of last season cannot be repeated.

Improving the training ground remains a long-term aim, and further squad strengthening will unquestionably be necessary in the Premier League. An ongoing restructure of Newcastle’s academy set-up remains a work in progress.

To a certain extent, his efforts will always be constrained by the whims of those above him, but despite last season’s relegation, he claims it is wrong to assume that everything is in need of repair.

“A lot of things are right here,” he said. “We have good staff, but maybe in terms of the way we do things, we can improve a little bit. It will always be very difficult to be right in every decision, but sometimes you can do things in a different way that can maybe help with everything, football and business.”

The immediate priority is to round off a successful fortnight by claiming all three points against a Fulham side that beat Newcastle on the opening weekend of the season.

Vurnon Anita will start at right-back with DeAndre Yedlin unavailable because of injury, and having come off the bench in Tuesday’s goalless draw at Reading, Dwight Gayle is set to be restored to the starting line-up for only the second time since mid-January.

“It will be an interesting challenge because Fulham are an attacking team who create chances,” said Benitez. “All the offensive statistics are quite good for them, but at the same time they concede goals and it could be an open game. It should be a good game for the fans.”