Benitez tells Newcastle he’ll quit if team aren’t competitive as he eyes another Champions League win

RAFA BENITEZ has warned Newcastle he would rather be on the dole than manage an uncompetitive team.

And he believes he still has it in him to win another Champions League before he retires aged 70.

The Toon are trying to tie down the Spaniard, whose contract expires in June, and will give him £100million — plus cash from sales — to spend over two years.

But Benitez clearly feels that is not enough to get the club to where he thinks they should be. The St James’ Park boss, who turned 59 on Tuesday, said: “What I want is to get a job where I can enjoy competing.

We need a team that can compete in the Premier League, not just survive. It has to be something that makes me, the fans and everybody sure we can compete.

Rafa Benitez

“If I cannot, maybe I have to stay at home and wait.

“I have been here for more than three years and I was clear from day one — we need a team that can compete in the Premier League, not just survive. It has to be something that makes me, the fans and everybody sure we can compete.

“It is not a case of thinking ‘Maybe we can finish tenth or maybe we can finish 17th’.

“It has to be a team that when you play against anyone, you are sure you can win — not a draw will be a great result.”

Toon managing director Lee Charnley made it clear this week Benitez’s budget is based on the cash left over once costs are taken away from turnover — around £50m a year.

Benitez said: “If you want to compete against teams between seventh and 12th, how much money have they spent . . . £100m all of them.

“I don’t say you have to spend £200m but you have to do things in a way where you can compete in the market.

“Our players, their families, are happy in Newcastle, even better than in London.

“But to sell that, you have to add something more — sometimes it’s wages, sometimes it’s a transfer fee.”

Benitez famously won the Champions League with Liverpool in 2005.

His preference is to stay working in England, at least while his youngest daughter, 16-year-old Agata, is at school.

He added: “I want 11 years. My wife is fine. For her, it is a relief to stay in England.

“One of my daughters is at uni, the other will go to uni.

“So I would like the possibility to win the Champions League again in those 11 years.”

Right now, he is only concerned about this evening’s clash with Southampton. The Toon have 38 points, seven clear of 18th-placed Cardiff with 12 to play for.

Rafa added: “I said 38 points would be enough a long time ago. But Cardiff won a couple of games and changed everything.”