Rafa Benitez’s Newcastle United beat Watford on Saturday but they are still 17th in the Premier League table.
Yohan Cabaye is a reminder of when things were rosy at Newcastle United.
The Frenchman was the heartbeat of the Magpies side that finished in the dizzying heights of fifth in the Premier League in the 2011/12 season, thriving at St James’ Park alongside the likes of Demba Ba, Papiss Cisse and the late Chieck Tiote.
Newcastle fans can only dream of a return to those relative glory days. Despite a 1-0 win against Watford on Saturday, the Magpies are still 17th in the table with a grand total of six points from a possible 33.
Speaking to the Mail, Cabaye remains confident that his former club can avoid a second relegation in the space of three years.
“In this situation it is really important to work really hard and not to change everything. It is easy to say that doesn’t work so we are going to change everything,” said 32-year-old Cabaye, who is now with Al-Nassr after a spell at Crystal Palace.
“You need to keep the same mentality to work and give the player’s confidence. You can be a good player with good quality but if you do not have confidence it can be difficult, really difficult.
“For sure they have quality in the team, so for me I am confident the results will turn around.”
Whether they do indeed have the quality remains to be seen. There is arguably not a single player in Newcastle’s current squad that can match the likes of Cabaye for talent, with many fans and pundits lamenting what has been deemed in some quarters as a Championship team.
Blood, sweat and tears can only take you so far, but at least Newcastle have shown that they are willing to fight for the cause in recent weeks.
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