RAFA PLAYING IT SAFE
Boss plans to hit roaring 40s
RAFA BENITEZ insists that Newcastle won’t be safe even if they beat relegation rivals Huddersfield today.
The Geordies could climb seven points above the drop zone by avenging their 1-0 defeat by the fifth-from-bottom Terriers in August. Victory would put them on 35 points, but Benitez insists he won’t be happy until they hit 40. He said: “I don’t agree that we are safe if we win. We can’t go into the game thinking we need to win this and then we don’t need anything else. “If we win, we will be closer and it will be a big step but still we have to keep winning games. “You never know what the other teams will do, so you have to keep winning. “We know how massive it is to stay up in your first season back in the Premier League. “I still say that 40 points is the target. It may end up being less, but that’s what we are aiming for.” Newcastle and Huddersfield came up together from the Championship last season with Brighton. All three clubs are in with a decent chance of securing another season of top-flight football.
Benitez claims the pressure is off David Wagner’s side as the Magpies go in search of a third straight home win after a 21-day break.
He added: “We know how important this match is against a side who have had nothing to lose this season.
“They are so happy, so pleased to be there, and they are doing really well. It’s a win-win situation for them but you have to give them credit for how they’ve done.
“It’s more difficult for us because we’re seen as a top side in a massive city with a big stadium and previous experience in the Premier League, so everyone expects us to be higher in the table.”
Islam Slimani hopes to make a belated debut from the bench, with the fit-again striker set to feature for the first time since his loan move from Leicester in January.
Slimani has been sidelined with a calf problem, which will restrict the Algerian star to a maximum seven appearances in return for a hefty £2m fee.
Benitez insists he has no regrets over signing him though and said: “To have had him around the squad has been a positive, it’s helped competition for places and has kept the other strikers on their toes. We’ve seen them raise their game.
“He’s been training really well and is the kind of player who wants to impress.
“I’m sure over the next two months he’ll try to do his best because it impacts on his future too.”