Fans told: Forget boycotts, your team needs support

RAFA BENITEZ admits he is pleased Newcastle fans have cancelled their boycott of tomorrow’s clash with Wolves.

Geordie fans planned a stay-away in front of the Sky TV cameras in a bid to pressure owner Mike Ashley into selling up.

Ashley claimed this week he is in positive talks with several potential buyers, including ex-Manchester United chief executive Peter Kenyon.

There was also a muted response to an 11th-minute walk-in demo last weekend that coincided with West Ham’s opening goal in a 3-0 away win.

Benitez, who welcomed his former Liverpool defender and current Seattle Sounders coach Djimi Traore (above) to training, wants Toon fans to concentrate on roaring the team on.

Newcastle face a vital run of winnable fixtures, starting at home to Wolves, before they go to Huddersfield and then welcome bottom-of-thetable Fulham to St James’ Park

Benitez said: “It is positive because the fans understand the team needs support, they understand that with everyone behind the team it will be better for the long term.

“We will need them from now until the end of the season. It has to be good. I have to say thank you to the fans because my message has been very clear all this time: this group of players, they deserve support.

“You talk about 52,000 or what ever number of fans of Newcastle – five million or six million – not all of them will have the same opinion.

“The way for them to express themselves is in this way or that way, but in the end what we want is to be sure they are behind the team.

“These players showed in the Championship, last year and this year, that they care and the last example is in the game against Everton.

“In the last minute, everybody was working so hard trying to get a result, I think they deserve the support, and the fans appreciate that.”

Benitez says he has “no new news” on the takeover and insists it is “business as usual” trying to get points to keep the club away from the relegation zone.

Fabian Schar is suspended for the Wolves match, while Kenedy and Paul Dummett are pushing for a return.

Jonjo Shelvey (below) could start on the bench for a third game after his injury, and Benitez says he has to work hard to earn a recall. “He must keep working hard, which he is doing already,” he added. “Sometimes, when a player is doing well, they have wait.

“You have 11 players who start and the others have to keep working hard.

“His attitude has been good. This group of players, the majority of them, almost every day – I will not say all of them, every single day – they train well, so that is fine.”