Augsburg clash will be a fan-tastic occasion, insists Toon boss

Chief Sports Writer RAFA Benitez says he is still expecting the atmosphere in Newcastle United’s final pre-season friendly of the summer to be positive - despite transfer-window woe dominating the agenda on Tyneside.

Benitez delivered a powerful press conference in Braga which summed up the state of play during what has been a disappointing window.

For weeks it has been obvious United seem overly cautious in the summer trading period, Benitez deeply concerned with the club’s recruitment so far.

When asked if he was anticipating a negative response from fans against Augsburg, the Spaniard told the Chronicle: “Our fans are very clever, I think they know more or less what is going on.

“So I think they will try to support the team and help the players.

“They know they have to give everything every game so afterwards we can be better or worse.

“However, we have to compete and we have to be sure we have the same mentality we had last year.”

Benitez is still eager to sign a clutch of players before the window shuts for business. He added: “Yeah, we need four or five players.

“Am I optimistic we will do in seven days what we did not do in two months? I don’t think so.

“I think it is obvious we need bodies.

“It is time to act rather than talk. “We have been working for months.

“Sometimes we can sign players, sometimes we cannot.”