Newcastle United are currently top of the Championship table.
Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie has told the Chronicle it is too early to determine who the Magpies rivals will be this season.
Rafa Benitez’s team are currently top of the Championship, two points ahead of Brighton and Hove Albion and six ahead of Reading in third.
Beyond the top three the table is extremely close, though, with just six points separating third from seventh in the table.
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez shakes hands with Matt Ritchie after the game
The division is likely to be a hotly contested one, to say the least, with it far from certain that Newcastle will be securing promotion.
And Ritchie says that it is too early to determine who will be challenging them at the top of the table this year.
“I wouldn’t call anyone rivals at the minute,” he told the Chronicle.
“The league is so tight you can win two or three on the bounce and then your rivals are different.”
“We are where we want to be at the to of the league and we need to make sure our performances are good.”
Nottingham Forest manager Philippe Montanier
This weekend sees the Magpies heading to the City Ground to take on Nottingham Forest after a disappointing week.
First, their unbeaten run in the league came to an end as struggling Blackburn Rovers beat them, and then their EFL Cup run came to an end at the hands of Hull City.
Ritchie knows better than most how difficult Forest will prove to be, with his Bournemouth side having lost there during their promotion campaign and the Scotland man is hoping to avoid a repeat.
“I have played there and my last experience of the City Ground was we got beat 2-1 with Bournemouth,” Ritchie added.
“Luckily it was the second-last of a five-game winless streak. That was during the promotion season. Hopefully, that won’t be the story this time.”
Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez
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