Fulham vs Newcastle: Rafael Benitez offers a dose of realism before season of high expectations

Newcastle United are the odds-on favourites to be promoted as they start life in the Championship at Fulham tonight, but manager Rafael Benitez is a more realistic observer of the challenge that lies ahead of him and his reshaped team.

The Spaniard, who followed his surprise decision to stay at St James' Park by initiating an in-depth study of the second tier of English football, emphasised on Thursday that he is only too aware of the obstacles awaiting them as they try to emulate the Newcastle team that returned to the Premier League at the first attempt six years ago.

Then, Chris Hughton possessed players such as Kevin Nolan, Andy Carroll, Joey Barton and Danny Simpson who relished the challenge and, along with other powerful characters, ensured Newcastle finished top and broke the 100-point barrier.

The Championship is undeniably more formidable now and Benitez knew the players who wilted miserably as Newcastle went down last season were not the type needed to get them back at the first opportunity.

“I have said many times the Championship is very difficult," he said on Thursday. "There are a lot of good team and a lot of rich owners spending big money. The prize of the Premier League is so big in terms of TV money, that everyone is spending and wanting to be sure to have a chance.

“Last time, Newcastle had players of character who were strong mentally and physically and we are bringing in players to make sure we can adapt to the Championship."

His ten new signings - with more expected to come - reflect Benitez's approach to the challenge, as does his willingness to part with expensive imports such as Georginio Wijnaldum, Papiss Cisse, and Florian Thauvin, who has left on loan to Marseille.

Moussa Sissoko will also make his exit if any team comes up with more than £30m, which would leave Newcastle with a substantial profit on their summer dealings after breaking even following the arrival of Mohamed Diame and Ciaran Clark, who trained for the first time yesterday.

There is a British core to his team along with foreign players who have played at this level before. “We knew the Championships is so difficult and knew we needed players who knew about the physicality, the importance of every contact. It was important to get players with knowledge of this side of the game," he said.

"We are a good team and we can be one of the best teams, but there is still plenty of work to do to improve and it will take some time. I would like to say we will win easily at Fulham, but I do not think so.

"It will be very tough. The teams with more money maybe will have the better squads., but in every game it is just 11 players on the pitch. For us, it is still a long journey.”

open image in gallery

It is not a journey he anticipated 12 months ago when his pre-season preparation featured Cristiano Ronaldo and Gareth Bale at Real Madrid, yet you suspect Newcastle have offered a more satisfying experience for a man who prefers to be on the training ground.

“This has been more football orientated," he said. "The other one was business and marketing when we were in Australia and China with Real Madrid. We tried to do our job and we did well, especially in Australia, but this one has been football. That has been the priority, but we have prepared the players the same way.

"You are professional, you have good players and you prepare the team in much the same way. What you have to be careful of is assuming a player can work harder because he has less ability.

"You have to give them some freedom. You have to find the balance and we did not need to encourage them because they have been working very hard during pre-season."

Craven Cottage will offer the first clue to their prospects tonight. Clark and Diame will not be involved, but Dwight Gayle play after being given the team's famous No.9 shirt following his move from Crystal Palace.