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It is now more than a fortnight since Rafa Benitez committed to stay at Newcastle United following relegation by signing a redrawn three-year deal at St James’ Park.

That renegotiated contract handed the Spaniard full “control of footballing matters” at the club and Benitez’s decision to remain helped to greatly soften the painful blow of demotion.

At his second unveiling, the 56-year-old spoke of his determination to achieve promotion back to the Premier League at the first attempt, and he also promised to build a squad who were more than capable of performing in the Championship in 2016-17.

The former Real Madrid, Chelsea and Liverpool boss is already well on his way to finalising the Magpies’ pre-season plans, and he has also started to sound out potential transfer targets for next season.

Crucially, the Newcastle boss is determined to keep supporters firmly in the loop about all his plans at the club and to keep them abreast of the changes that are afoot.

Here, in the first half of a two-part exclusive Q&A with The Chronicle, Benitez discusses what he has been up to since his appointment, his plans for the club’s training ground and Academy, when he expects to make a breakthrough in the transfer market and how he will deal with players requesting to leave.

Question: How has life been since you confirmed your commitment to stay at Newcastle United? Have you been across in the North East, or back with family in Liverpool?

(Image: 2016 Newcastle United)

Benitez responds: “The first few days after I confirmed I was staying, I spent in Newcastle at the training ground and the Academy, meeting with staff and planning the changes we needed to make to these areas of the club.

“But since then I have been back at home with my family, relaxing a little bit, but at the same time working very hard with Lee [Charnley] and everybody at the club on a lot of things, especially – of course – looking at players, analysing and making important decisions about the squad and the transfer window.”

Question: What plans do you have to improve the training ground, as well as the Academy, at the club? And how are those plans developing? What’s the timeframe for those?

Benitez replies: “We have already started on a lot of improvements to the training ground.

“The purpose with everything we are doing there is to improve the environment that the players train in and the equipment and the facilities that they use so they are able to perform to their optimum level.

“We had to consider not to disturb the preparation of the team and at the same time to improve the facilities.

“So, we are renovating the inside structure of the building, creating new spaces for working and for relaxing.

“We will have double sessions on some days, so it is important that the players have spaces to relax and refresh and also to build the team spirit together.

(Image: 2016 Newcastle United)

“We have already improved the gym, bringing in new and better equipment which will be a big improvement.

“We will also be resurfacing the artificial pitch inside the indoor facility. It will be a 4G surface which is much better for the players to train on, there is less impact on the body and less problems with injuries.

“If our supporters play in their five-a-side teams perhaps, then they will know themselves the difference between a poor quality artificial pitch and a 4G pitch.

“The indoor hall is a very good facility and we need to make sure that it has a top quality surface so that we can make use of it for training throughout the year, but especially when the weather is bad outside in the winter. That’s really important.

“We are also putting a 4G pitch in at the Academy.

“Another important change we are making is to bring in an administrator to work with the players and their families.

“This will be someone who speaks English, French, Spanish, to help players settle at the club and in the city and be sure that they are able to focus 100 per cent on the football.”

Question: How many players are you looking to sign this summer? And when do you expect the first signing to arrive?

Benitez answers: “It is always dangerous to give a number and I won’t do that.

“What me and Lee are focused on is making sure we keep and build a very strong squad for the Championship so that we can compete well and get back into the Premier League the season after.

“We don’t have to sell, that is clear, unless we think it is the right thing to do for the club and for the squad.

“But also the level of performance that the team showed at the end of the season makes me feel sure that we have already the basis of a good team for next season.

“I can assure fans that the business we are doing at the moment and that we will be doing over the next few weeks is all aimed at making the squad stronger than it is at the moment.

“We are very busy and things are very positive, the Euros makes things a bit difficult for every club, but as soon we can announce things about the squad we will tell our supporters.”

Question: Moussa Sissoko has stated clearly his desire to leave - you’ve said before you want to keep as strong a squad as possible, so how many of your top players do you believe you can hold on to?

Benitez responds: “It is simple in football: good players want to play with good players, in strong teams.

“So it is important that our priority is to have a strong team.

“Our focus is on bringing high-quality players to the club to improve the group we already have.

“We said a few days ago that we have had enquiries for some of our players, but our position is very clear on this.

“We absolutely will keep and build a strong squad that we believe can get us promotion back to the Premier League.

“If a player leaves, or he stays, or a new player arrives, whatever business we do in the transfer window will always be in the best interests of the club and the squad, that is certain.”

Question: Season-ticket sales are booming despite relegation - has that surprised you? How important is it to have a full and vocal St James’ Park next season?

Benitez answers: “It does not surprise me so much, because these are fans who love the club. It is hard when you love something to stay away.

“But it is fantastic to hear that areas in the stadium have already sold out and that there have been queues for tickets at the stadium.

“When I hear this, it makes me very confident in what we can achieve next season because as I have said, the fans make a really big difference, when the stadium is full and loud and positive, then we can achieve great things.

“I have to thank them for showing their faith in me as the manager and already I look forward to seeing them in St James’ Park in August.”

Question: The connection between the club and the fans appears to be improving - does the club have any further plans to improve community relations? For example, will fans be able to watch an open training session this summer?

(Image: Stu Forster/Getty Images)

Benitez replies: “Yes, we will have an open training session for supporters for sure.

“We want to bring fans closer to the club and to the players, we are all a team together.

“And the club is also a really big part of the city and the community.

“I have been talking to the staff and talking about the club’s Foundation, and also about the local charities in the North East.

“The club already does excellent work in the community, and we can add to that and hopefully do more.

“I have really good relationships and friendships with the people of Liverpool and Merseyside.

“I want to develop the same in Newcastle.

“We have been talking already about organising a children’s football tournament, bringing local schools together and connecting them with the club.

“We are part of the community and the football club is part of the people in this area, we need to come together. When we come together we can achieve great things for the club and the city of Newcastle.

“I think you will hear more about our plans for the tournament soon.”