Rafael Benitez calls for January reinforcements after Newcastle's limitations laid bare at Manchester City

Rafael Benitez insists Newcastle United need to be active in the final weeks of the January transfer window to add Premier League experience to their squad, though he fears the club may have left it too late to secure all his targets.

Despite last week’s breakdown in takeover talks between owner Mike Ashley and Amanda Staveley, Benitez claimed to have received assurances over signings, even though the club is yet to enter the market this month.

However, the limitations of Benitez’s squad were laid bare at the Etihad on Saturday as league leaders Manchester City recorded a comfortable 3-1 win. The defeat leaves Newcastle just two points clear of the relegation zone.

“We have been working very hard to get the players we need to stay up. We gave a list to the owner and we have to wait and see what we can do,” Benitez said on Saturday.

“They know the names, whether loans or permanent. I need bodies with experience. The majority of this team were in the Championship, so they don’t have much experience of the Premier League. We need that. We need players to give us something different. Quality or experience.

Benitez, however, fears that with only 10 days remaining until the transfer deadline, the club may not secure all the new additions that he needs.

“We’ll see how many we can get,” he said. “It’s a little bit late now.”

Newcastle were dominated for large spells at the Etihad and, like in the reverse fixture at St James’ Park in December, came close to recording the Premier League’s lowest share of possession in a single match.

Having seen just 22 per cent of the ball against City last month, Benitez’s side held possession for just 19 per cent of the time on Saturday - one point above of the existing record set by Queens Park Rangers against City on the final day of the 2011-12 season.

Benitez has taken charge of leading clubs and those fighting for survival during his career, but he feels the gap between the elite and the rest has significantly widened since his early days in management.

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“It’s bigger now. They are spending much more money,” he said. “My first game with Extremadura was against Barcelona – we lost 1-0, but we played 4-4-2, we pressed high, the difference between that and now is massive.

“You see Chelsea today [Saturday], Brighton did a good game, but they concede four goals. There is a massive difference between the rest and the top six. And people say, ‘Oh, the teams at the bottom, they have to do this, they have to do that’ but if you are a little bit open… well, you can see, in the last ten minutes we were a little bit open and we could have conceded another two goals.”

When asked whether he would take a more adventurous approach with more quality players at his disposal, Benitez asked: “Who has the record for goals in the Champions League? With Liverpool and Real Madrid.

“If we can score ten, we score ten. If we have the players to attack, we attack. But you have to defend against the best team in the country. You have to defend.”