Rafa Benitez points to Newcastle’s Championship title in defence of Aleksandar Mitrovic loan

Mitrovic's form has brought mutterings of whether he should have left, especially as the loan signing Islam Slimani is still injured, but Benitez defended his methods

Aleksandar Mitrovic has been in fine form (Getty)

There was a question put to Rafa Benitez on the eve of arguably his most important game since taking charge of Newcastle United about Aleksandar Mitrovic, and his answer felt about much more than just an unruly centre forward.

It is almost two years since Benitez walked into an unravelling football club, and on that first Friday night at a chaotic training ground, one of the first things he sought was a louder whistle.

Finding a voice inside a club can take time, but arriving, as he did, with Real Madrid as his last port of call, meant his methods immediately carried more weight than his predecessor, Steve McClaren, who had suffered the ignominy of being ignored by his players when he told them to get off the team bus and go for a walk before a game.

Nothing, however, quite silences the doubt of footballers and football supporters like silverware. Mitrovic, a £13m signing ostensibly by Graham Carr in 2015, was overlooked last season and was shipped off to Fulham on the final day of the January transfer window. Since then he has begun scoring goals, and there were another two in midweek against Sheffield United. It has brought mutterings of whether he should have left, especially as the loan signing Islam Slimani is still injured, but perhaps Benitez’s greatest achievement since becoming manager at St James’ Park has been to steady an often volatile ship, to maintain calm and to keep control, and to that end it was his first chance to really emphasise last season’s achievements.

“We were the best team in the Championship, so I don’t want people to have the wrong idea,” he said. “We were the best in the Championship, we scored more goals than anyone – 85, like Fulham and Norwich – we conceded less goals than anyone – 40 like Brighton – so we were the best team.

“We won the title, we had more shots on target than anyone, so we were attacking, we were second for crosses, so we were attacking and crossing. Our style of football was very offensive and we have one key player and that was Dwight Gayle and he scored 23 goals even when he was two months without playing. Even Daryl Murphy scored six goals.

“When we talk about that we cannot forget that we were the best team in the Championship, an attacking team, creating a lot of chances, with balance in terms of attack and defence – that is the reason why we won.

“I have to make my decisions. Mitro is doing well in the Championship, fine, perfect. Hopefully he can score 20 goals, that would be good for everyone.”

It is not often a Newcastle manager has been able to silence any dissenting voices with silverware.

Aleksandar Mitrovic scores for Fulham (Getty)

To that end, as his side prepare to face Southampton, one place and one point beneath them with a goal difference one better, it is another call for unity. The players, he revealed will go with him on a four day trip to Spain next week – where they will likely face Antwerp in a game – as Tottenham’s FA Cup involvement means Newcastle will go three weeks without a Premier League fixture.

Benitez has been in the middle of chaos with an English team abroad, when Craig Bellamy attacked John Arne Riise with a golf club in 2007 and the police were called. There is still the shadow of West Brom’s ill-fated trip to Barcelona, but the Newcastle manager insisted he can trust his players, just as he is insisting the supporters who have another nervy afternoon ahead, will trust his players and his methods.

‘Yes, I trust this group,” he added. “I have not had big problems with my teams – although the most famous was in Portugal with Liverpool, where we had a few problems, although we then beat Barcelona.

“There are no concerns, we have everything under control – after, you never know, but now, everything is under control. Will they be allowed a drink? Yes, they can drink water, no problem!

“The Southampton game is massive. It’s massive for everyone. I said Brighton and Huddersfield, they have an advantage because they haven’t been feeling the pressure from day one.

“Yes, we will feel the pressure, but we’ve been feeling it from the start. It’s not a big difference, so hopefully for me it’s the same. Hopefully the players can go on the pitch and then they can perform at the level that we’re performing now in terms of the team doing things we need to do. It’s not just about winning or not winning, but doing the right things. “

Crucially, there is confidence that his methodology will this time keep Newcastle in the Premier League.

“What will keep us up?” he said. “Stick together, everyone working the way we work now and we will have more chances to win, or not lose. If we keep the team solid we can be winning and not losing.

“It is difficult to sum up the two years; the disappointment of the first season when we thought we could stay up, and really pleased with the second season, we win the Championship, and did really well. This year could be worse.

“When you think of what we had and where we are now, we are doing a lot of things but still could be better with a bit of help. Every game is a final from now.”