Newcastle United have stumbled in their comeback season in the top flight having lost their first two matches in the Premier League. However, they have clawed their way back into the competition with back to back wins against West Ham United and Swansea City on consecutive weekends and are looking to continue their winning run in the next matches as well.
However, their manager Rafa Benitez has been wary about the lack of quality in his side, which can easily be capitalised by the rival sides and might get them off the winning way.
The Spaniard is one of the most experienced managers in the Premier League and has been in charge of clubs like Liverpool and Chelsea and is well aware of the fact that it is going to be quite tough for him to get positive results if he doesn’t have enough quality players at his disposal.
Benitez has been very much vocal about his displeasure and has accused the top management of non-cooperation and non-fulfilment of their promises which they made during the pre season. It seemed at one time that the manager might part ways with the Toon, but has stayed put at St James Park for the time, looking to revamp his side with whatever resources he has at his disposal.
Benitez manager has his eyes on the Englishman Jonjo Shelvey, who has been banished to the Under 23 team after he was banned by the FA for allegedly stamping on Tottenham Hotspur’s attacker Dele Alli during Newcastle United’s first match in their comeback season in the Premier League.
He was given marching orders due to the incident and was also punished with a three match ban, which ended during his side’s last match in the Premier League against Swansea City.
However, the player was not called back into the side and was ordered to lead the Under 23 team of his club onto the pitch in their respective encounter. The English midfielder played a pivotal role in the game and has established himself as one of the top contenders to start in the next match against Stoke City.
Newcastle United played well in the last match to stick to their one goal lead against the Swans and bagged important points from the clash. However, they will be facing a tougher challenge as they go up against the Potters in their forthcoming match in the Premier League and might need someone like Shelvey to step up and tale them through to safety helping them to get another important win under their belt.
Surely, Shelvy should be pushed straight back into the mix by Rafa.
