Benitez won't allow Mourinho to get in his head

The two managers both moved to England in 2004 to take charge of Chelsea and Livepool. Over the following 14 years they have traded insults and taken their careers to the same leagues and quite often the same teams. Benitez, however, has now taken the opportunity to downplay the importance of the mind games, insiting that he just wants to concentrate on the match. 

Speaking ahead of Newcastle's impeding fixture with Manchester United on Sunday, the Spaniard said: "For you [the media], the mind games are more important. For me, it was preparation of the games. I was not worried about the mind games, I was worried about my team."

"If you say something and the other manager says something and you win the game, the assumption is that you are winning the mind games. No, sometimes your team is better or the other is better and that is it."

The former Valencia manager also acknowledged the talent that Mourinho has at his disposal: "With these teams [like Newcastle], you have to prepare every single detail, and still they can make the difference with one thing that you are not expecting."

The 'Red Devils' won the previous encounter 4-1 at Old Trafford thanks to goals from Anthony Martial, Chris Smalling, Paul Pogba and Romelu Lukaku.