Rafa Benitez has warned that Newcastle United will continue to lose games and says his only target for now is survival.
The Magpies have won just one in six and entered the international break on the back of 1-0 defeats to Burnley and Bournemouth.
They travel to Manchester United this weekend with trips to Chelsea and Arsenal to come before Christmas.
Rafa Benitez has warned that Newcastle will lose more games but is optimistic of survival
Benitez’s side have 14 points from 11 matches and the Spaniard says they need a minimum of six more from eight games before the turn of the season over the festive period.
’I tried to explain from the beginning – we’re a newly-promoted club that has to settle in the Premier League and losing games is part of the process,’ said Benitez, who will be without injured trio Jamaal Lascelles, Christian Atsu and Mikel Merino at Old Trafford.
‘Hopefully we can stop that this weekend, but if we think about the target that it is to stay in the Premier League and then try to finish as high as possible… we have 14 points and if we come out of the first part (of the season) with 20, we can be optimistic.
‘Would we be happy with that? No, we have to try to get more. We need to work really hard to ensure we can win games like Burnley or Bournemouth, those that we lost 1-0 – turning them into draws and wins makes a big difference.
‘You’re not happy losing games, but my job is to be sure that we understand our position, what we are and how we achieve what we want to, so that at the end of the season we’re in the Premier League.’
The Magpies have won just one in six and most recently lost 1-0 at home to Bournemouth
Prior to that match, they were humbled by the same scoreline away to Burnley
Meanwhile, Benitez has played down his longstanding rivalry with United boss Jose Mourinho.
It is more than 10 years since they met on the touchline, but Benitez said: ‘We will play against Man United – it’s not key about the managers.
‘Jose Mourinho has won a lot of trophies in a lot of countries with a lot of teams. He’s a good manager, but they also have a lot players for us to be concerned about.
‘I don’t have any problem with anyone. I’m a professional and I do my job.’ Benitez, though, did turn up the pressure on Mourinho by insisting that any manager of Manchester United is expected to return trophies given the money invested in the team.
’It’s a massive club, they spend a lot of money and they are a team that can compete in every competition,’ he said.
‘They have to win everything… but that’s normal when you’re in a club with this potential. They have to compete for everything.’
Benitez will continue his longstanding rivalry with Manchester United boss Jose Mourinho