Benitez not concerned by Newcastle’s league position

Rafael Benitez believes performances are currently more important than league position after Newcastle threw away two points at Bournemouth.

The Magpies were on course to climb to 11th in the Premier League table after Dwight Gayle’s first-half double gave them a deserved 2-0 lead at the Vitality Stadium.

However, a late collapse saw them concede twice in the final 10 minutes to leave them in 15th place, just two points above the relegation zone.

Newcastle’s display on the south coast – which followed a surprise victory over Manchester United – was largely positive and manager Benitez feels his players are showing they have the ability to avoid an immediate return to the Championship.

“The main thing for me is not just where you are in the table,” said the Spaniard.

“You have to realise where you are but it’s to be sure that the team continue fighting, playing well and with the belief that we can win, that we can get points anywhere.

“If you talk about the last games, the team was doing well, really well. We can make mistakes because at the end we’re talking about the Premier League.

“The team has confidence in terms of a lot of the things we have done well and we have to be sure that next time we are positive and try to do things in the same way and avoid these mistakes and find solutions to these problems that we have had in the last minutes.”