Newcastle United are currently sat at the top of the Championship table.
Rafael Benitez has told BBC Newcastle that sometimes the criticism his squad has had to take on board has been unfair.
Newcastle go into nearly every match they play this season as the favourites, and they have generally coped well with that weight of expectation.
The Magpies currently lead the way in the Championship, and look to be in a commanding position to earn promotion.
However, Newcastle did go through a slight blip in January – where their form dipped.
And Benitez insists that there have been plenty of games where it was said that Newcastle weren’t at their best, but his side were simply be unlucky.
“Sometimes when we don’t play at the level we’re expected people say ‘you don’t play well’. But we have had so many games where we deserved to win and we did so well, but we couldn’t through bad luck or the opposition keepers,” Benitez said.
“What we have to do is get the result.”
Newcastle’s latest victory came against an out of sorts Aston Villa side last night.
The Magpies beat Villa 2-0 to move ahead of Brighton & Hove Albion and back to the top of the Championship table.
Newcastle are next in action this weekend, when they take on Bristol City at the weekend.
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