Rafa Benitez calls Fulham defeat a wake-up call for Newcastle
Friday 5 August 2016 23:28, UK
Rafa Benitez admitted Newcastle’s defeat to Fulham in their Sky Bet Championship opener is a wake-up call for his squad.
The pre-season title favourites lacked urgency in their play as Matt Smith headed home the winning goal in Fulham's 1-0 win just before half-time.
Newcastle, who spent £45million over the summer, were relegated from the Premier League last season but Benitez was convinced to stay to try and gain an immediate return to the top flight.
Toon skipper Jamal Lascelles admitted the defeat is a stark reminder of the challenge ahead and Benitez agreed that this result will act as a wake-up call for his team.
"We have to realise it will be a tough competition - we have to be much better," he told Sky Sports.
"We didn't play at the level we expected. We gave the ball away too easily and we conceded from a corner. After that we had some chances but we didn't manage the game today."
Despite creating few chances, Newcastle could count themselves unfortunate not to get two penalties after a couple of clear handballs were missed by the referee.
"From the bench they seemed like they were both penalties, especially the first one," Benitez said.
"But it was not given, but you can be disappointed but carry on. Maybe at the start of the season you'd expect more attention but we didn't play at the level we have to play at, so we can't complain about these things."
