Newcastle Manager Rafa Benitez Blames Lack of Confidence for Poor Championship Start
Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez believes a lack of confidence in some of his players is the reason for the club's poor start to life in the Championship.
The Magpies have been condemned to back-to-back defeats after they were beaten 2-1 by Huddersfield Town at St James' Park on Saturday following their 1-0 loss to Fulham last week, and Benitez thinks his team's performances are suffering because of low confidence levels.
FULL TIME Newcastle United 1-2 Huddersfield Town #NUFC pic.twitter.com/vm1bh1h3MB
"Maybe for some of them," the former Real Madrid and Liverpool manager told "?Chronicle Live when asked if confidence could be the problem.
"It may be affecting some players and that's why we aren't playing at the level we can play.
"Some players have enough quality to play well. It's not just about the Championship being difficult but this team have enough quality to play better.
"We were expecting a lot of teams coming here and playing the same way. It's not what they do, it's what we do."
Despite Newcastle picking up zero points from their first two games in the Championship, Benitez claims he is yet to lash out at his team.
"When you lose everybody is disappointed and I was really disappointed because we made too many mistakes," the Spaniard said.
"Especially with things they are doing in training sessions but not doing in games. They can do it, so we have to do it in matches."
Benitez is now looking towards his players with Championship experience to give the team a boost as they head into their next game against Reading on Wednesday 17 August.
"Some of them have experience and they know this level is quite difficult," the 56-year-old said.
"It should not be a surprise, especially after Fulham. We didn't do what we had to do because some players need more confidence."
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