RAFA BENITEZ BELIEVES his Newcastle side need a “miracle” to avoid being dragged into a Premier League relegation battle.
The Magpies secured a top-half finish during their first season back among English football’s elite in 2017-18.
The current campaign is proving to be a bit trickier, though, with more transfer frustration leaving Benitez to make the best of what he has.
He is concerned that may not be enough, with a side currently perched five points above the drop zone already looking anxiously over their shoulder.
Benitez said: “We have to be realistic and understand that we will be in the bottom half during the whole season.
“For me, it is almost clear and if we can be better than three teams, it will be another miracle.
“It was a miracle last year. People were thinking, ‘Oh, you finished 10th…’, but with a couple fewer wins, we could have been in the bottom five, so it was a miracle.
If we do the same this year with teams spending even more money than last year, it will be a miracle.”
Things are not about to get any easier for Newcastle as their next outing is set to hand Benitez a reunion with his former employers at Liverpool on Boxing Day.
They will then wrap up the calendar year away at Watford, before opening 2019 at home to Manchester United.
The January transfer window will be open by then but, with Mike Ashley still looking to find a buyer for the Magpies, Benitez is not expecting to receive much backing in the winter market.
He added: “I know what is coming now and I know where we are. You can see the team – the team is trying a lot of things, but still it’s not enough sometimes to get the points, and it will be like that.
“If we are under pressure and we feel this pressure, we will not be better, we can make more mistakes.
“I’m trying to tell everyone, realise where we are, realise what we have to do and if we do well, fine, we can finish 10th or whatever.
“But if we think we have to beat these teams which have spent £100 million, every one of them, during the summer, if we think we can beat them easily every game, no chance. We are wrong, 100%.”
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If Ashley the dope gave Benitez 100million he’d have them challenging for the 6-7 easy. It’s horrible seeing a club like Newcastle in the position they’re in and if it wasn’t for Benitez they could be in league one with Sunderland.
@Hardly Normal: It would take a lot more than 100 million, and a lot better than Benitez to have Newcastle 6/7th.
@CrabaRev: ok I’ll totally change my mind based on your insightful comment.
@CrabaRev: Where does all the Sky money go?
Its all Freddy Shepard’s fault for selling the club to that Muppet in the first place. I mean they were a bigger name than Man City yet look who they got to buy them
Great fans…..every home game a sell-out
I think Micheal Owen is still their record signing and that was back 13/14 years ago for around 15 million. Championship clubs are spending more than that.
I’m surprised Rafa stayed on this year. He’s lucky there are poor teams like Huddersfield, Fulham and Cardiff who will save Newcastle from the drop.