Rafa Benítez has received no direct contact from Mike Ashley since Newcastle United sealed their return to the Premier League, with the club’s owner offering the manager no reassurances following the extraordinary arrest of Lee Charnley, the managing director, and failing to congratulate him on securing promotion. While Benítez got on with the task of taking his squad through a regular training session this morning — they play at Cardiff City on Friday night — the club was left reeling after HMRC arrived at St James’ Park and their Longbenton training ground, seizing computers and financial records. With Charnley, 39, responsible for the club’s day-to-day running since April 2014, Ashley moved to fill a power vacuum on Tyneside by drafting in senior Sports Direct executives…

Source: The Times April 26, 2017 11:02 UTC