Spaniard is now set to take over at Napoli this summer.
‘Interim’ Chelsea head coach Rafael Benitez claims that he did a good job while in temporary charge of the west London club last season, fulfilling the remit that was laid down to him when he took the position last year, reports the Daily Mirror.
The Spaniard was appointed to succeed previous manager Roberto Di Matteo last November after the Blues had become the first holders in the modern history of the Uefa Champions League not to make it past the group stage.
However, Benitez’s arrival at Stamford Bridge was greeted with uproar and anger by the club’s supporters because of the six years that he spent in charge of Chelsea’s arch rivals Liverpool.
And yet the 53-year-old, who is expected to shortly be confirmed as the new boss of Serie A giants Napoli, managed to change many of the Chelsea fans’ opinions about him by steering the mega-rich club to a top-three finish in the Premier League last campaign, and with it automatic entry into next season’s Champions League, as well as victory in the Uefa Europa League final.
“I was just thinking about doing well in my own job and that’s all,” said Benitez.
“You can analyse better than me, but two semi-finals, a trophy and top three – everybody was saying ‘you have to do this or that’ and we did it.
“All I wanted to do was to do my job with a top side and to show people that we can still do well.
“The circumstances were special but still we did our job as best as possible, so I’m really pleased for everyone involved.
“I’ve said before a lot of fans supported me in the end. Maybe some of them couldn’t change their minds.
“But we did our job and I hope everyone could enjoy it. We did what we had to do – that’s the main thing.”
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