Rafa Benitez refuses to be drawn on Newcastle transfer status
Newcastle with one win in last eight Premier League games after defeat
Wednesday 2 January 2019 23:47, UK
Rafa Benitez refused to be drawn on Newcastle's transfer plans after a frustrating defeat to Manchester United.
The Magpies gave a decent account of themselves at St. James' Park but paid the price for failing to take their chances as Romelu Lukaku and Marcus Rashford sealed a fourth consecutive victory for Ole Gunnar Solskjaer.
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Benitez highlighted the quality of United's attacking players after the game but, when asked whether he would be able to bridge that gap in January, he told Sky Sports: "I don't talk about the transfer window and I do not talk about the takeover."
Asked if there had been dialogue between himself and the club's owners, he replied: "I talk with them, I talk with [director] Lee Charnley almost every day, but I will not talk about that."
The defeat to Manchester United means Newcastle have now won just one of their last eight Premier League games.
Benitez felt Newcastle deserved more from the game but was left to rue a number of defensive errors in the defeat which leaves Newcastle just two points clear of the relegation zone.
"We made a mistake for the first and after, when we were doing better, they scored the second goal on the counter attack," Benitez added. "That normally happens when you play against good players, they punish you.
"We started quite well, there were two or three situations where we were quite close, and we also had some chances in the second half. We lost the game 2-0 but we deserved more.
"To win the game? I don't know. But to be there and be close and get a draw, I think so.
"If you analyse how we concede, they didn't create many clear chances. At the end, when we were more open and exposed, they were more dangerous, but for 80 minutes it was really close.
"We know that the final third is the key. When you pay big money for players, offensive players, they can make the difference.
"You have to give credit to our players because for 85 minutes they were in the game. In these kind of games, one mistake and these players can make the difference."
