Newcastle United may feel aggrieved by their 2-2 draw with Southampton at the weekend, as the absence of defensive mishaps in the second-half may well have resulted in all three points for the Magpies, but the signs continue to be promising.
At this early stage of the season, Newcastle have coped extremely well with their return to the top-flight and a tally of 11 points from the opening eight matches in the league means they’re on-course to hit their 40-point target.
In fact, given the start that Newcastle have had, the Magpies could overachieve this season and may even battle for a top-half finish in the Premier League standings- although they’ll face off against the likes of Watford and Burnley, with the trio all looking to ensure they don’t slip away from a fine start.
Belief around St. James’ Park has increased significantly around what is an exciting time to be a fan, as the club are back where they belong, have a wealth of talented young players, boast a fine manager in Benitez and could be set for brighter days with continued talk of a takeover.
That belief has certainly not go unnoticed on the field, where Newcastle have battled to some impressive results this season, and Rafael Benitez himself spoke about it in the wake of the 2-2 draw with Southampton.
Quoted by The Chronicle, the Spanish boss said:
“During the whole season, the team spirit is very good. The city, the fans, everybody is behind the team and we can feel that. You see how many fans on a Sunday after two or three games that we play away and they are travelling, following and supporting the team.”
“The players, they appreciate that too and so you have a lot of people together, working very hard for each other and that is quite positive. It has to be like this until the end of the season if we can.”
Benitez made a point of not looking too far ahead, insisting the focus was now on getting three points against Crystal Palace next weekend, and that attitude is exactly what Newcastle need this season if they are to continue staying afloat.
The danger though is that things start to get shaky and results on the field drop, with the fixtures over the course of the next month playing a huge part in how the season progresses as the Magpies face Palace (H), Burnley (A), Bournemouth (H) and Manchester United (A).
Three of those games will seem winnable for Newcastle, particularly with Palace and Bournemouth both struggling this season, but a negative string of results could swiftly change the course of the campaign- as just six points separate Newcastle from the bottom-three.
That’s far from a criticism, as the margin will always be tight at this early stage of the season, but it shows there’s a lot of work still to be done.
