Toon plea for unity

NEWCASTLE have issued a call for unity in a last-ditch attempt to head off fan protests at today’s game against Tottenham.

Manager Rafa Benitez has been unhappy at the lack of new signings and said yesterday he has no plans to resume talks over a new contract.

In a summer of Toon discontent his players have also only just settled a dispute with the club over bonuses.

Angry fans are planning a series of protests against owner Mike Ashley, including a demonstration outside his sports shop in the city centre.

But in a joint statement, issued on behalf of managing director Lee Charnley, Benitez and skipper Jamaal Lascelles, Newcastle claimed everyone is pulling in the same direction. It read: “With the transfer window now closed, the focus should be on unity and getting behind the efforts on the pitch. “We know our supporters are incredibly passionate and we know that passion will be channelled into supporting the players we have on Saturday, and every matchday thereafter home or away. “Doing good business in a transfer window is about ending the window clearly stronger than when you started, and we believe we have done this. “The view we all share is that we have a better squad now than the one that finished 10th last season and all involved have worked tirelessly to make this happen.” The Magpies go into the Spurs game with one of the least expensive squads in the Premier League. Benitez hoped major investment would have allowed him to set his sights higher than merely survival.

But Ashley preferred to plough £90million into taking the House of Fraser department stores out of administration yesterday, rather than into the club he bought 11 years ago.

Benitez, into the final 12 months of his contract, insists he is happy at Newcastle but his relationship with Ashley is not good and talks with Charnley have barely got off the ground.

Asked if meetings are arranged, he said: “The time to talk about that was before.

“We have improved a little bit or at least bought players who can do a job for us.

“The fans will think, ‘Rafa will be upset’ or this or that, but this is not the time for that.”