Newcastle United

Rafael Benitez unconcerned by Championship rivals

By Neil Wilkes, Editor-in-chief | 06 February 2017

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez insists that he is not paying attention to the performances of his Championship promotion rivals.

Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez has said that he is 'not worried' about how the club's promotion rivals are faring in the Championship table.

A 1-0 triumph over Derby County on Saturday afternoon helped the Magpies to return to the top of the table in a hotly-contested race for the automatic promotion spots that also include Brighton & Hove Albion, Reading, Huddersfield Town and Leeds United.

Benitez's side have a game in hand and a six-point gap on the third-placed Royals, but the Spaniard insists that he is only focusing on his own side's performance.

"I am not really worried about the table," he told The Chronicle. "The main thing for me is that it depends on us. If we can carry on winning our games, we will be there.

"You cannot be watching when you have so many teams around. It is not just Brighton; Reading is doing really well, Huddersfield Town is doing well, Leeds is doing well.

"So we need to make sure we carry on doing our other jobs, and then see what the others do."

Next up for Benitez's side is a trip to Paul Lambert's Wolverhampton Wanderers on Saturday evening.