Twitter Reacts: Newcastle Sack Steve McClaren, Benitez Favourite to Take over

It was inevitable, and on Friday it became official: Newcastle United parted ways with manager Steve McClaren.

Pressure had been mounting after three successive league defeats, and on Friday, the Magpies sat second from bottom in the Premier League table.

The 54-year-old had won just six of his 28 league games in charge this season.

Many Newcastle fans were sympathetic, suggesting the club’s failures weren’t necessarily down to the manager:

And others pointed out he’s not the only one guilty of underperformance.

Of course, many took the opportunity to revisit some his previous highlights.

And attention soon turned to identifying the next man to take up the hot seat at St James’ Park, with former Liverpool, Inter Milan, Chelsea and Real Madrid boss Rafa Benitez expected to take charge, per Louise Taylor of the Guardian, a prospect that excited most on Tyneside.

Though his fall from grace would have been spectacular.

The Spaniard was warned the task ahead of him wouldn’t be easy:

The (albeit tongue-in-cheek) hashtag “RafaOut” wasn’t trending:

Newcastle’s next match is against league-leading Leicester City at the King Power Stadium in the Premier League on Monday.

[Twitter]