Rafa Benitez says Newcastle always knew it would be difficult in the Championship

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Benitez seems confident his side will be in the mix at the business end of the season.

Newcastle United boss Rafa Benitez has said his side always knew it would be difficult in the Championship following their 1-1 draw with Aston Villa at the weekend, the Chronicle reports.

The result leaves the Magpies in fifth place in the Championship, four points behind Norwich City at the top of the table with Newcastle hosting Alex Neil’s men at St James’ Park on Wednesday night.

Benitez is quoted in the Chronicle, saying: “We knew that it would be difficult. We know and we can see the games and the opponents and we know this is a strong competition and very difficult. We have to keep working hard.

“Some games like this we will win. We have to continue working because you will lose some games you do not expect.

“I am confident that we will be there. We have to keeping working as hard as we are working every day.”

After a good run of form that put them firmly in the mix for the promotion places at the early stage of the season, there have been a couple of setbacks in terms of results in the league. The Magpies suffered defeat at homes to Wolves – something which they avenged a few days later in the League Cup – and were pegged back by Aston Villa after being unable to kill the game off despite taking a first-half lead.

Benitez seems to be ensuring that his side is firmly in the mix come the halfway stage of the season and hopes his side kick on. He recognises that it is a marathon for his side, not a sprint in a very competitive league.

If Benitez’s time in England suggests anything, it is usually that his sides can kick on in the second half of the season. Especially during his time at Liverpool, his sides were capable of stringing long winning runs together towards the end of a campaign.

At the moment, Newcastle are well in touch with the leaders, and a win over Norwich City would bring them in right into contention. Benitez knows that things are not going to go entirely smoothly, and Newcastle may not win the league at a canter. His approach seems to be more pragmatic rather than worrying about the odd dropped points here or there.