RAFA BENITEZ: THE SIMPLE TRUTH.

Rafa Benitez is like Marmite isn't he. You either love it or loathe it and it's the same with him. He has his support amongst Chelsea fans and he doesn't amongst the majority of others. We all have an opinion that we are entitled to but I want to make something clear here - his objectives.

For example, Rafa has taken Chelsea on a good run and we now sit third in the Premier League and are through to the Europa League final and he's just won the Barclays Manager of the Month award for April.

Sir Alex Ferguson echoed a personal view of mine about Rafa ahead of our game on Sunday when he said:

“I think he’s very concerned about his CV, he refers to it quite a lot.”

..and I still stand by that statement. People resent me for it and some people have taken to the comments section on here and have given their view and I respect that. Like I said, we all have an opinion and I have mine.

The truth is that all this means nothing if we lose to Manchester United and Tottenham and finish outside the top four. Champions League qualification is a must for Chelsea and for Rafa Benitez this season and if it doesn't happen he will walk away from Chelsea with his Manager of the Month award and possibly the Europa League to add to his mantle piece. He won't care personally about what happens to Chelsea Football Club after this season.

He took on an impossible job and no one can ever tell me that he didn't think at the time of the reaction of the supporters. He saw the potential of adding to his CV with a trophy or two, his £1m contract for six months and his chance to be back in the spotlight, back in the shop window for his own personal long term objective and will walk away from here no matter what.

So what happens if he does beat United and Tottenham and manages to finish inside the top four and Chelsea qualify for the Champions League? Well, I want to leave it to Tim Rolls from the Chelsea Supporters Trust to explain the harsh but simple truth and it's about time some of the Benitez fans amongst Chelsea supporters took notice.

He said:

"The reality is, although we are in the Europa League final, the big issue is Champions League qualification and that is still far from certain. I still don't think it has been an exceptional season.

You imagine the least that was expected when he was appointed was Champions League qualification. All he would have done is achieved expectation, he will not have exceeded it."

Carefree & KTBFFH!