No way Newcastle are safe from relegation, warns Benitez

Newcastle United moved seven points clear of the drop by beating Burnley, but Rafael Benitez is not prepared to consider his team safe.

Published : Feb 27, 2019 16:15 IST

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez warned that his team is not safe from relegation following the win against Burnley.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez warned that his team is not safe from relegation following the win against Burnley.
lightbox-info

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez warned that his team is not safe from relegation following the win against Burnley.

Rafael Benitez has warned Newcastle United is far from certain of Premier League survival following Tuesday's 2-0 win over Burnley.

Goals from Fabian Schar and Sean Longstaff sealed the victory at St James' Park, which moved the Magpies seven points clear of the relegation zone.

Even if 18th-place Southampton beat fellow strugglers Fulham on Wednesday, Newcastle will still have a six-point cushion to the drop zone due to Cardiff City's 3-0 defeat at home to Everton.

Benitez, though, does not think its battle to stay up is over yet.

"Obviously, winning games gives you more confidence, but we have to have the same idea of one game at a time," said the Newcastle manager. "We are where we are because we are focusing on each game.

Read: Leicester players excited to work with Rodgers, says Maguire

"The job is not done, no chance. We need to approach every game with the same mentality. The players know that, and the fans do, too.

"The players deserve the credit; they were doing really well. They fought for each other in the second half. It was a good win against a good team.

"I was not thinking too much about how many points we could be clear, just to carry on doing what we know we can do well. We went to Spain and trained really well, and we came back and are in the same situation. The players work hard and are keen to do the right things. They want to be solid as a team and be a threat."

fabian-schar-croppedeers0md8n78g1he9zslb0shngjpg
Fabian Schar (L) celebrates his goal against Burnely with Newcastle United team-mates.
 

Benitez was particularly pleased with Longstaff's first league goal for the club, which came after Schar had blasted in the opener from 25 yards out.

"He is someone that was training with us and doing well," he said. "We knew he would have a chance, he was lucky with our injuries to play sooner than we expected, and he did well, so we kept him in the team.

"He is working hard and listening to staff and learning, which is the main thing. Having a young lad from the academy is a great example for people to follow. It is ideal for any club to have players through the academy because they are cheaper, and they give you more."

Also Read: Character not enough, says Brighton boss Hughton

Burnley boss Sean Dyche felt his side were well short of the standards that had seen them go eight league games without defeat, a run which included the 2-1 win over Tottenham on Saturday.

"It was a really poor first half, a long way short of where we have been," he said to BBC Sport. "I don't want to be too critical. We just didn't have the fight we have had recently. Credit to Newcastle - they played well. Even not playing well, we had two big chances.

"We were at the races in the second half, we huffed and puffed a bit, created some chances and a couple of scrambles."

Sign in to unlock all user benefits
  • Get notified on top games and events
  • Save stories to read later
  • Access to comment on every story
  • Sign up / manage to our newsletters with a single click
  • Get notified by email for early bird access to discounts & offers to our products
Sign in

Comments

Comments have to be in English, and in full sentences. They cannot be abusive or personal. Please abide to our community guidelines for posting your comment