Newcastle United goalkeeper Rob Elliot says that Rafa Benitez's arrival at the club has been brilliant for the players.
The Spanish manager arrived at the club following the sacking of Steven McClaren last week and now faces a huge task of leading the club out of the relegation zone.
The Magpies are currently placed 19th in the league table, one point from safety, but Elliot is confident the former Liverpool, Chelsea and Real Madrid boss can get the most of his players in the final nine fixtures to help lead the Toon out of the mire.
"If you had said to me a couple of weeks ago that Rafa would be our manager, I'd have probably laughed," Elliot told the Chronicle ahead of this weekend's crunch Tyne-Wear derby with fellow strugglers Sunderland.
"But it's a fantastic opportunity for the players and this football club to move forward with Rafa in charge.
"We just need to make sure that, one we stay in the division, and two he's our manager for the next few years to build and take us to where we want to be."
"It's been great to have Rafa on board," Elliot added.
"We haven't had too much time to work with him yet because he's just arrived, but his experience speaks for himself.
"It's been exciting and motivating for the players to have someone like the gaffer to come in.
"He's just left Real Madrid – all you have to do is talk about his calibre.
"We need to make sure that we work hard and listen to what he asks us to do so we can climb up the table as quickly as possible."
