By CHARLIE WYETT
RAFA BENITEZ claims he has been congratulated by Chelsea’s players for his rant against the club’s fans.
Benitez, whose side host West Brom today, is set to receive a hostile reception from the Stamford Bridge faithful after insisting in midweek they were not helping the team.
But when asked if any players had thanked him for his outburst after the FA Cup win at Middlesbrough, he said: “A lot of them. A lot of the players have been supporting me, telling me to carry on doing my job. They are my private conversations.
“The players were really pleased with the atmosphere against Arsenal and Napoli.
“They will enjoy having everyone pushing in the same direction, they will be pleased.”
Interim boss Benitez has already revealed he does not want to stay at Chelsea beyond the end of the season — but defeat today could hasten his exit.
Benitez was also quizzed whether he was actually enjoying the job he took on last November following the shock axing of Roberto Di Matteo.
The Spaniard said: “Yes. I have passion for football. I like to prepare games, to train and coach players. To win.
“Every single game for me is a challenge. Every single training session is a challenge.
“I try to do my best, prepare the tactics, the training sessions, the team. It’s part of my passion.
“I think that, if you analyse carefully what I said, what I was trying to explain is that we will have 11 games to play, 33 points.
“If we stick together behind the team, it will be easier for us to get points.
Respect “I have been training and coaching for 26 years. I have always had principles, respect and education. That is the way I’ve achieved what I’ve achieved. We have 11 games to play.
“If we stick together, it will be easier and we’ll get more points.
“I would like to see a fantastic atmosphere supporting the team — I’ll be happy with that.”
