We're heading in the right direction, says Rafa

The popular Spaniard took over from Steve McClaren with ten games of the 2015/16 campaign remaining, but despite an upturn in form – including three wins and four draws – the Magpies slipped out of the Premier League.

However, since then, United have responded with aplomb. In contrast to last season’s two other relegated sides – Aston Villa and Norwich City – they have rarely been out of the promotion picture in the months gone by, and top the Sky Bet Championship ahead of Saturday’s visit of Fulham.

And, as his side look to take another major step towards an instant return with victory over the Cottagers, Benitez took time to reflect on his first 12 months at the helm.

“It has been a great experience. I think the main thing is to see the team, and the club, going in the right direction. Everything is going well, and hopefully we can continue in the same way. My idea is not to enjoy the anniversary too much, but be sure we are ready for (Saturday’s) game, and that we are where we want to be at the end,” he said.

“The first (aim) was to try and stay in the Premier League. We couldn’t. When you see from outside, you think ‘this’ and ‘that’, but when you are here you can see the problems from inside, and think, ‘Hmm. Maybe it was a difficult task.’ We were unlucky, because of the games we had at the beginning. Leicester (City) were doing really well, Sunderland and Norwich were teams with us, and maybe with a little more time, it could have been different. But, at the time, we couldn’t react – we had a lot of injuries, we had just arrived, and we needed to manage. After that, we knew more-or-less where things were going wrong, and tried to change things. I think we have changed a lot, but still, we have to keep changing things and try to be sure we are more consistent in terms of the performance of the team.

“Before I came, everybody was talking about a massive club, a massive city and fans behind the team, and that is clear. You can see at every away game and every home game that we have a lot of fans there, but even in the city, when you go walking around, everybody is loving the club – the name of the club, the stature of the club, and that is really important if we want to be stronger. In terms of pressure, when you go to a top side, that can happen. People say, ‘Ah, but you are in the Championship.’ Yes, but still, we are talking about a massive club. It is something we have to realise – we have to have the winning mentality that you need, but at the same time, we have to be humble and keep working hard, because that is the only way.”

Only United and fellow title-chasers Brighton & Hove Albion have lost fewer Championship games than Saturday’s visitors, who sit within striking distance of a play-off place ahead of the clash.

Under Serbian Slavisa Jokanovic, the Cottagers have carved out a reputation for an attacking brand of football, and Benitez does not expect their style to deviate at St. James’ Park.

“They will not park the bus. They are doing well because they are an attacking team – and they will try to attack. Sometimes you can start a little bit higher or deeper but it is an attacking team – that is very clear,” he said.

“It will be a challenge for us. Jokanovic is doing a great job, and we know it will be a tough game. People were thinking that our last three games (at Brighton, Huddersfield Town and Reading) were very dangerous, but we were talking about four – and Birmingham (City, next Saturday) will obviously be difficult – but especially this one. This is the one we have to be sure we approach properly.”