Rafa Benitez tried to stay grounded even after Newcastle United secured a decisive advantage in the Championship following a 3-1 win over Huddersfield Town.
Huddersfield have been seen as one of the potential title challengers for Newcastle, despite being outside the top two. Newcastle had a great opportunity to extend the lead in the Championship to six points with a win over Huddersfield. They had watched Brighton and Hove Albion suffer a second consecutive defeat in the form of a 3-0 loss against Nottingham Forest during the weekend. Finishing top of the Championship has been a priority for Newcastle ever since they were relegated last season.
This was the second relegation for the club since the turn of the century. However, they look on course to bouncing back straight away just like last time. Even though the win over Huddersfield has provided a significant advantage, Benitez dismissed talk that the club are on the verge of securing promotion back to the top flight. Newcastle have a trip to Reading in the midweek action, and it will also be a difficult encounter for the club considering that Reading have also been involved in the promotion race.
Newcastle have been sensational in the Championship this season and they have been unbeaten in the league since the loss against Blackburn Rovers back at the start of January.
“Yes, it’s good but that’s all. We now have to play Reading and there are still a lot of points to play for. We just get ready for the next game. I was really pleased with everyone. Huddersfield have some good players and we knew what to expect from this game. It does not matter whether you have a game plan if you don’t have the players. The players gave everything. We have a group of players who really try,” said the Newcastle manager after the win over Huddersfield.