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Benitez Looking To Stop The Block
Written by Newcastle Utd
Rafa BenÃtez admits he has been trying to address United's "mental block" ahead of their trip to Southampton
By Dominic Scurr
Rafa BenÃtez admits he has been trying to address Newcastle United's "mental block" ahead of Saturday's trip to Southampton in the Barclays Premier League (3pm kick-off).
Following an injury-time defeat at fellow strugglers Norwich City last weekend, the Magpies' boss feels his side need to improve their on-pitch mentality if they want to start picking up points.
And while BenÃtez praised the fact that United twice came from behind against the Canaries, their failure to take anything from the game is something he hopes will be learned from against Southampton.
"There are a lot of things we have to learn," BenÃtez admitted.
"The only way to do this is to practice every day. The effort from the team is there, they just have to improve mentally and learn to approach this game with confidence.
"We have to stop the mental block that the players have. We do that by winning (against Southampton)."
Newcastle have neither won nor scored at St. Mary's since the Saints returned to the top flight in 2012, but BenÃtez is not discouraged by this record.
"When the stats go against you the best way to address this is to give everything you can on the pitch and sometime your fortunes can change.
"It's football, anything can happen and hopefully this game will be the first (win).
"Physically the team are fine. Mentally when they train you can see that they are trying as well. But when you go into a game and you know how important it is for everyone, you have something against you and this can be the most difficult thing to overcome when you are at the bottom end of the table.
"If we cannot win we have to keep fighting right until the end. That is our message to the fans - we will not give up.
"There are still 21 points to play for but first we have to concentrate on this game against Southampton and make sure we get three points."