On-loan Newcastle star Christian Atsu has offered words of high praise for Rafa Benitez for contributing to his current form.
Speaking to reporters while on duty with Ghana at the African Cup of Nations, Atsu highlighted how the Spaniard interacts with his players as a key reason for his success in the game lately.
The 25-year-old moved to St James' Park from Chelsea in the summer on a season-long loan, but initially struggled to show what he is capable of.
The Newcastle fans have seen the best of Atsu over the past six weeks or so, however, and his participation in the AFCON this month probably came at the worst possible time, just when he was starting to string together a sustained period of good form.
And the Ghanaian spoke to reporters about how Benitez has helped him find his feet on Tyneside, responding to a question asking him about the Spaniard's role in his upturn in form, as quoted by GhanaSoccerNet.com:
"The best managers are the ones that try to bring out the confidence. They try and help the player, they are friendly with him when he's bad, or good. They try to communicate with their player. And it's very important for a player, when things are not going well and the coach is at least trying to speak with him. I think that is one of the biggest differences in top coaches."
Whether or not Atsu's future will be on Tyneside remains unclear, but one thing that is for certain is that if he continues his impressive form, the Magpies will surely make an attempt to sign the winger in a permanent basis in the summer.