• Premier League

Benitez quiet on Chelsea talk

ESPN staff
March 5, 2012
Rafael Benitez is on the lookout for a fresh challenge © PA Photos
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Former Liverpool manager Rafa Benitez has refused to comment on reports linking him with the manager's job at Chelsea.

Chelsea owner Roman Abramovich axed Andre-Boas on Sunday, eight months into his tenure, and Benitez is prominent in bookmakers' lists for the job.

The likes of Jose Mourinho and Pep Guardiola are also in the frame, but Benitez is currently out of work and available to start immediately should any offer come his way.

The Spaniard, who enjoyed Champions League success with Liverpool, stressed that he wants to manage a club that is challenging for silverware, but would not be drawn to comment on the links with Chelsea.

"I would like to have a top side in the future, a side that can fight for titles and challenge," Benitez told Sky Sports News during a visit to Dublin where he is being honoured by the Philosophical Society of Trinity College for his outstanding contribution to sport. "That was my idea at Liverpool and at Inter it was the same.

"My experience is to challenge and try to win trophies."

Commenting on the departure of Villas-Boas, he said: "In football things go very quick. Things used to be more patient but now it seems you have to win every single week. I have experienced this in Spain and Italy."

© ESPN Sports Media Ltd.
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