Says Joselu after ending barren spell during defeat by Foxes
when it comes to personnel, and he’s right on that score because when he’s facing the top six teams he is trying to get a result against the £300m-plus outfits with a team that is worth around £72m.
Once you navigate your way past the top six you then come up against the sides like Stoke, Watford, Bournemouth, Everton, Leicester, Burnley and West Brom who have spent big chunks of Premier League TV money.
And it’s worth noting now that even the fellow promoted teams are finding life a little tricky as they find themselves just two and three points ahead of the Magpies respectively – despite reasonable summer shopping sprees.
Benitez will take responsibility for results, but his players must step up to the plate too, and they are the only ones who can answer back to many of the critics and pundits who are now saying they are Championship players struggling with life in the big league.
It’s a real test of character for those players, and the likes of Matt Ritchie, Dwight Gayle, Jonjo Shelvey, Jamaal Lascelles, Ciaran Clark and Mikel Merino (an older head on young shoulders it seems) must really show they are capable of the life in the Premier League four matches together in a 4-4-2 formation and, although United have lost all of those games, the pair appear to be developing a strong understanding up front.
“I have played three or four times with him. I think we play good together,” Joselu said of his partnership with Gayle.
“The manager takes the decision, and we try to do our best every game. I’m very happy for me and for they have worked their whole careers for.
If they can rally the younger players in the squad before the turn of the year they can effectively stave off the R-word before the dogfight really kicks in.
So many times we’ve heard the phrase “In Rafa we trust”. Well, as we head into the long hard winter, that couldn’t be more appropriate.
It was easy rattling out that line when things were going well in the Championship or at the start of the season when Newcastle managed to climb to fourth place in the Premier League.
As United fans get ready for the clash with Everton, Benitez will call for them to lift his side again following that 86th-minute choker against Leicester.
It’s no fun being in the bottom three on Christmas Day, and Newcastle will have to start picking up points to avoid that unwanted place in the relegation zone.
But it all has to start with a positive outcome against the Toffees. Dwight as well, but we need the points. We have good players and we have a good squad. We fight every training session for a place in the XI.”
Gayle equalised for United against Leicester, before Ayoze Perez put the ball into his own net to condemn the Magpies to a 3-2 defeat.
But Joselu expects Newcastle to respond to that “unlucky” loss by securing a result against Everton.
“We are frustrated, because I think 2-2 would have been a good result for both teams. We tried to win the game,” Joselu added.
“We know how difficult it is to play these games, but it’s cruel and disappointing to lose the game in the end like this. But that is football. We have another game at home, and we’ll try to win it.
“We are a good team as well. We have good players, a good stadium and good supporters.
“I think it was an unlucky game, because, in the end, we conceded an own goal. That is football.
“We need to keep fighting and thinking about Wednesday. We’ll try to get the three points.
“We need to stay positive, always, because if we go down, it’s very difficult to go up again. We try to stay positive, all of us, and tomorrow is a new day. We think about Everton.”