Rafa Coy On Derby Debuts

By Tom Easterby - Newcastle United Club Reporter

Rafa Benitez says he's in no rush to hand debuts to his latest recruits in Saturday's Sky Bet Championship clash at Derby County - but is happy with the level of competition he now has in his squad.

Newcastle United head to the iPro Stadium (5.30pm kick-off), hoping to rack up their fifth win on the trot in all competitions.

And the Magpies boss will have new arrivals Daryl Murphy, Achraf Lazaar and Christian Atsu available to him for the first time this weekend.

But Benitez says his signings must show they have been able to "adapt" to their new side if they're to feature against the Rams, and insists that any changes he makes to his team are to encourage the already healthy competition within his squad.

"Each player is different, so it depends how they adapt, how they train," he said. "But if I have to play some of them, they can play, if I have to wait, I will wait.

"At the moment, I think that some players will have an advantage because they were playing, so they will have more chances to play this game.

"When you talk about changing a team, sometimes you just change one player and the stats say we have changed the team.

"It depends on the position - some players need to be rested, because his position is more demanding physically. Some players can play more games in a row - the centre backs can play more games, and the wingers and strikers have more problems.

"Also it depends on the competition. The players that we have in the squad can compete and do well, and I'm really happy to change players.

"But I'm not thinking about 'we need to rotate' or 'we have to rotate'. It's because we know that it's important to keep the competition between players, to keep them fit as possible to prevent any injuries and also to have fresh legs for every game.

"We have a lot of games and not too much time. It's always important to have a good squad and the players need to understand that that is the way."

Benitez also confirmed that striking duo Aleksandar Mitrovic and Dwight Gayle could be in line to return at the iPro Stadium, having missed the victory over Brighton a fortnight ago after suffering head injuries in the 2-0 EFL Cup win over Cheltenham Town.

"I think it's important when you have this problem to have more time, so in this case both Mitrovic could play, and Gayle was training, so they are fine," he said. "They can be in the squad."