Newcastle United head coach Rafa Benitez has told the Telegraph that he believes that Brighton and Hove Albion and Sheffield Wednesday have an advantage over them because they have experience of the Sky Bet Championship.
Isn't PREMIER LEAGUE experience more important?
The Magpies were relegated from the Premier League last year and have been aiming to return to the top-tier at the first time of asking. So far this year, they shown that they are favourites to do that as they are currently 2nd in the Championship and are only one point behind Brighton who are currently on top of the table.
However many have deemed Newcastle not being first as a disappointment mainly because of the serious amount of money they have invested in trying to get promoted. But Benitez has denied that by saying that many of their rivals for promotion such as Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday have the advantage because they have played in this league for years and have experience of promotion battles.
He said: “If you see where Norwich and Aston Villa are, who were relegated with us, then you see how difficult the Championship is,”
“But at the same time, you see teams like Brighton and Sheffield Wednesday, they have so much more experience of being in the top six of the Championship, they have the advantage.
“They did not need to change half their squad in the summer, they just add one or two players. People continue to say we will go up, or you have spent so much money, I just say we are doing well and we are working very hard.
“I do not lose energy worrying about what people are saying about us. When we lost two games at the start of August, I realised anyone can beat anyone in this division.
“One hundred per cent there is more pressure on us to go up, that was clear at the beginning of the season. If you asked any fans, they would have said Norwich, Villa, us and Brighton, teams with experience of being there or being relegated.”