Ritchie a good fit for Benitez
MATT RITCHIE will be backed by boss Rafa Benitez despite his horror open goal miss – because he is Newcastle’s stamina man.
The midfielder has been teased by team-mates for missing from two yards in the win at Burnley on Monday.
The Scotland star faces a fight for his place with Jacob Murphy and Christian Atsu. But the two wingers, bought for a combined value of £18million, can not dislodge him.
Ritchie ran 12.4km against Burnley, a massive effort and typical of his work rate. Benitez said: “He wants to do well and Matt is a worker. He gives everything in every training session and every game. He will be OK.”