Benitez’s cautious tactics have been criticised but have saved Newcastle from more meltdown

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It feels like an awful time to be telling Newcastle fans that their plight could be worse, but that does not make it untrue.

Magpies fans will be aware that their side have faced a horrid run of fixtures to kick off the season; facing five of last season’s top six has contributed somewhat to Newcastle being the Premier League’s basement club.

But Rafa Benitez’s side have lost by a single goal each time, and found the net against every single one of their elite opponents.

It feels like a small mercy, but Benitez’s cautious tactics have helped Newcastle avoid a real thrashing in any of those encounters; the kind of result that smashes morale out of a side and can give way to mutiny.

Benitez knows the club can ill afford a thumping that shakes the club’s spirit. But more importantly, Newcastle haven’t been disgraced in any of those matches.

Their poor results against Cardiff, Leicester, Brighton and Crystal Palace will be a bigger worry; but again, only once has the margin of defeat been more than one.

Of course Newcastle need more firepower, but Benitez’s organisation and pragmatism is keeping them in matches, no matter who the opponent.

It is easier to add firepower to an organised team than to tighten up an open one. Benitez knows that and has put himself in a position where he must tweak the balance, not rip it up and start again.