Stoke manager Tony Pulis has added his voice to the circus surrounding Rafael Benitez' latest outburst against the Chelsea board and fans.
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The interim Blues boss is at the centre of the latest club-versus-manager row, after the Spaniard laid into the board and supporters following the 2-0 FA Cup victory over Middlesbrough on Wednesday.
Potters boss Pulis has since come out to defend his Premier League colleague, stating every manager needs the proper backing from the club chairman, as it is crucial to prosperous results on the field.
"What goes on at Chelsea goes on at Chelsea - I can't control that. In terms of what Rafa is going through, the best person to talk to is Rafa," Pulis said.
"But every manager has a different relationship with chairmen. I have had different relationships with other chairmen at other football clubs to what I have got with Peter Coates.
"I'm very privileged to have the Coates family here, who are absolutely fantastic people. If I want to see them, I pop down the road and it is five minutes if I jump in my car. The door is always open for me to go and see them.
"Ask Rafa what his relationship is like with Abramovich or the people in power there. He is the only one who can answer that - and from that stems everything.
"When I first came into football, Bruce Rioch said to me the greatest relationship in a football club is between the manager and chairman. That was 20-odd years ago, and Bruce has been dead right. The relationship between yourself and the person who runs the football club is paramount to how the football club really projects itself.
"As a football manager, I am extremely lucky here. Other managers are not so lucky."
Benitez had also aired his frustration at being labelled as 'interim manager', claiming the title shows an inherent lack of backing for the manager by the Chelsea hierarchy.
Pulis added that the manager's title only counts for something if it is followed by the necessary respect, suggesting Benitez' title is inherently disrespectful.
"You can call me anything you want," he added. "The most important thing is that the people who are working for me have to show me respect. I don't care what I am called - especially behind my back!"
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