OUR SEASON STARTS HERE ..AND THE EXCUSES END NOW

No more hard-luck tales.. Rafa believes next 10 winnable games can transform Toon’s fortunes

RAFA BENITEZ admits that the time for excuses is over – but believes his Newcastle players are ready to start delivering results. Winless after eight Premier League games, Toon are kept from rock-bottom only by Cardiff, and Benitez is aware Geordie fans are growing tired of sob stories, even though the fixture list gave them an unenviable task in the opening months of the campaign. Newcastle have met five of the big six teams already but now face a run of 10 winnable games that will make or break their season.

Last term a slump in mid-december triggered a battling response from the Toon players (right), who ended in 10th spot after flirting for so long with relegation.

And now Benitez has called for another show of guts amid a kindly run of fixtures.

Before they travel to Anfield on Boxing Day, Newcastle will face Brighton, Watford, Bournemouth, West Ham, Wolves and Fulham at home, and Southampton, Burnley, Everton and Huddersfield Town away.

Benitez yesterday faced his most awkward grilling yet as Newcastle boss, involving talk of the sack and fan protests against the unpopular owner Mike Ashley.

But for once the Spaniard’s negativity was absent. After months of transfer grumbles, he even suggested he could keep Newcastle up without big spending. Ahead of today’s clash with Brighton at St James’ Park, Benitez said: “It’s a long race. I tell the players to persevere, to keep going, and then they will get the result we want.”

Was the Spaniard’s bullishness merely a facade?

“No, it’s because I believe,” he said. “I am telling you this because I see the team training.

“We manage the little things we can manage. We do not have the budget, and January is too far away. My job now is to talk to players, to give them confidence, to make sure that they understand the moves we want them to make.”

And Benitez denied that Newcastle, who have lost all four home Premier League games so far, are under more pressure than most.

“When I was at Valencia and Napoli we had pressure. Everybody has pressure because everybody wants to win,” he said. “If the fans realise where we are, we can manage the pressure. The most important game is the next one. It is not a must-win game, but it is the most important game.

“The league table does not look good, but if you have seen the performances of the team you will know we are close. “The problem here is that if you are not winning, you lose confidence. It’s crucial for us to keep belief and confidence.

“The way that the players are training, for me, is fine. You can see they still have the belief.”

Benitez talks persuasively but we will discover Newcastle’s true Premier League level over the next 10 games.

My job now is to talk to the players and make sure they understand the moves we want them to make