Newcastle have picked up one point from their first four league matches.
Chris Waddle has told BBC Sport that he believes Newcastle United could struggle to avoid relegation come May next year, and claimed that Manuel Pellegrini’s West Ham have a better plan B.
The Toon finished in a lofty tenth place in the Premier League table last season after an excellent end to the season, but have picked up one point from a possible 12 so far this time around.
Newcastle have had a tough run of games, suffering 2-1 losses to Tottenham, Chelsea and Manchester City. But they should have beaten newly-promoted Cardiff City, only for Kenedy to miss an injury-time penalty.
Waddle praised Benitez’s style of playing defensively and looking to nick a goal, which has so far failed to work this season – even losing in the Carabao Cup. He compared that style to the more attacking Pellegrini.
“He did a fantastic job to keep them up [last season] but to do it a second season running with the same players is very hard because mentally and physically it is very hard on the players to work the system he plays,” Waddle said.
“Rafa’s very tactical. The problem for Newcastle is when they go a goal down and have got to come out a bit – but he knows how this works, whereas Pellegrini is very attacking and may have to adjust his style a bit, get a result somewhere and hope to kick on from there.”
Newcastle’s tough run of fixtures will continue in their next two outings, as they play host to Unai Emery’s Arsenal before coming up against Crystal Palace who are known to perform better at Selhurst Park.
Fans will take belief from their narrow losses to the big three, with many expecting The Toon to have lost to the likes of Chelsea, City and Spurs. Even so, the Premier League table is grim reading for fans, as they sit in 18th place.
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