Don’t pop those champagne corks just yet, we still have to beat

IT’S been suggested before that teams raise their game against Newcastle and this game is no different.

In a season in which Newcastle have been praised highly for their away form, they could yet end the season with more home wins than on the road.

As it stands Newcastle have won 13 games at home and 13 away with two matches left at St James’ Park and one at Cardiff.

The stadium will be charged up for the Preston game knowing that the team need just one more win to get promoted.

And, despite their recent sticky patch, I expect Newcastle players to respond and deliver Premier League football back to their adoring public. ONE more win.

That’s all Newcastle United need to book their place back at English football’s top table next season.

Some 348 days after dropping out of the Premier League in unceremonious fashion after Sunderland’s win over Everton, Newcastle have the chance to make amends and climb back on to the stage many fans believe they should be on.

Fittingly, they could do it in front of a sell-out crowd at St James’ Park and while the hard work will only just be starting if automatic promotion is confirmed, this should be a night Newcastle fans should savour.

And so should Rafa Benitez and his coaching staff.

Too much has been made of Newcastle not winning the title – but the truth is that United’s performance in the unforgiving Championship is nothing to be sniffed at.

Only those who really know about the problems at St James’ Park in recent years, with the mess caused by mismanagement, can see how much of an achievement automatic promotion RAFA Benitez insists Newcastle United can’t get swept away too early by talk of a promotion party tonight.

The Spaniard has also warned his players there is still “work to do” and he is expecting Preston North End to work twice as hard as normal – really is on Tyneside. Yes, they had a much-needed spending spree in the summer, but they have achieved much more than the average team that gets relegated. Not many teams bounce back at the first time of asking with automatic promotion. Only Burnley have managed that from the last 15 teams relegated and the two sides that came down with Newcastle last term can only watch on with envy as the Magpies swoop back into the Premier League. Nobody would begrudge the popular Chris Hughton his moment if Brighton do go on and win the league this year. But Hughton (pictured) has achieved that success after building a team in the Championship for the past three years. Benitez managed to galvanise the dressing room and prepare a team fit for a promotion challenge in just a few months. A host of pundits claimed Benitez wasn’t guaranteed success at Newcastle this season because he “didn’t know” the Championship. By leading Newcastle to promotion, he will have answered them perfectly. Benitez has shown he knows football inside out this season and that he can manage because he feels that visiting teams up their game against the Magpies.

Three points will seal Newcastle’s place in the top flight for next season, but Benitez said: “It would be fantastic to go up and it would be amazing.

“But we have to be sure we win against Preston and everything goes well.

“We still have a job to do.” pressure, expectation and football’s most complex characters.

Yet Benitez will have done more than just deliver promotion at St James’ Park.

After five years of slow decline at Newcastle, the club was in need of serious review and repair behind the scenes.

Benitez has addressed some of the issues.

Since finishing fifth in 2012, Alan Pardew had staggered through some

Newcastle have an outside chance of winning the Championship title in the last three games after Brighton lost 2-0 to Norwich on Friday night.

Speaking about how much winning the title meant to him, Benitez said: “At the beginning of the season, people low moments in the club’s history as the dynamics at boardroom level failed to result in any consistency.

Pardew was capable of rattling his players into the odd winning run. However, he was always up against it when it came to recruitment, with chief scout Graham Carr often having the casting vote.

Newcastle were drifting towards the inevitable.

They only just stayed up in 2013, their early season form saved them asked me that question. “In the middle of the season, they asked again. “I was always very consistent with my answers. “If we go up I will be really pleased, it doesn’t matter if it is first or second.” For now, Benitez