Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley wants to heal the rift with manager Rafa Benitez.

The Daily Mail says Ashley is not happy that he has never been invited to training by Benitez, despite being the owner of the club.

It is an unusual situation for a club owner to be put out by the fact he has not been invited to the training ground he pays for.

But Ashley is reportedly irked by the snub, while the former Valencia, Liverpool, Napoli and Inter manager keeps his distance from the boardroom.

Ashley's acceptance so far of the frostiness between him and Benitez perhaps demonstrates how much he needs the Spaniard to keep the Toon in the Premier League.