Newcastle made it seven consecutive league wins at the weekend, and it seems Benitez sees room for further improvement.
Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez was pleased with his side’s mentality in their 2-1 win over Cardiff City at the weekend, and says the side can learn when they are winning, the Chronicle reports.
The Magpies went into a 2-0 lead in the first half with goals from Christian Atsu and Yoan Gouffran but couldn’t find that third goal to kill Neil Warnock’s side off.
Newcastle’s Yoan Gouffran scores their second goal
Cardiff managed to get themselves back into the game with a Peter Whittingham goal to set up a nervy finish, but Newcastle managed to see the game out to record a seventh consecutive league win, and maintain a three-point lead at the top of the Championship.
Benitez is quoted in the Chronicle, saying: “Could it be better? Yes. But when you’re winning and show the mentality that you need in the Championship, that’s good.
“Everyone knows when you’re 2-0 up you need to score that third goal to kill a team off. We tried, we did really well but just couldn’t do it. In the end you have to ensure we have the quality and mentality to defend and get the three points.
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez
“It’s better that you can learn your lessons in a winning situation, it’s always easier to learn when you’re winning.”
As is always the case with Benitez, even with the side on a good winning run he still has that appetite for the side to show some improvement in certain areas. He knows there is still a long way to go in the season even if his side are on the right track.
He knows that other sides in the division are going to improve as well, and that Newcastle need to remain ahead of the curve. If they are stringing winning runs together like this and still have plenty of room for improvement, that sends out a pretty stern message to everyone else in the Championship.
Newcastle manager Rafael Benitez with DeAndre Yedlin
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