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Competition for places hotting up, says Rafa
Written by Rory Mitchinson
Rafa Benítez says he has been encouraged by the increase in competition for starting berths since Newcastle United’s recent signings arrived at the club.
Wide-man Kenedy, goalkeeper Martin Dúbravka and forward Islam Slimani have all linked up with the Magpies in the last two and a half weeks, with the Brazilian having already caught the eye in his two outings so far.
Dúbravka travelled with the squad for last week’s trip to Crystal Palace, with Slimani looking to overcome the thigh injury that has delayed his United debut so far.
Benítez revealed that the Magpies’ coaching staff will run the rule over the Algerian’s fitness ahead of Sunday’s visit of Manchester United, but feels that his squad as a group have responded positively since the trio joined up.
“Slimani did part of the training session yesterday and today he was training in the gym and we will see how he feels tomorrow,” he said. “We have to see. Today, he was in the gym, and we will see how he is feeling tomorrow and then we will decide how fit he is and what he can do.”
Asked whether he was “desperate” to see the Leicester City loanee make his Magpies bow, Benítez said: “I am desperate to see all of the players fit and giving me problems in terms of competition, but in the training session today, the other players were doing really well. It was a good training session. What I like is the competition. The competition with the ‘keepers, the midfielders and strikers now – because we have three new players – is better, and I think it’s good for the team.”
Newcastle have not recorded a Premier League victory at St. James’ Park since October, when they edged out Crystal Palace thanks to a late Mikel Merino header.
Benítez does not believe his side are feeling burdened by their winless run on home soil, though, and recognised that a clinical edge in front of goal will be vital to their chances of getting the better of the Red Devils on Sunday.
“I think our idea is to win any game – it doesn’t matter if it is at home or away. When you play at home and do well, the fans will be supporting the team and will be behind the team and maybe it will be easier to put in even more effort, but a lot of these things we cannot complain about – the effort, the work rate and the commitment,” the Spaniard said.
“We need to improve our finishing or our experience to manage in games. It is something we have to learn quickly.”
"What I like is the competition. The competition with the ‘keepers, the midfielders and strikers now – because we have three new players – is better, and I think it’s good for the team."