Rafa Benitez Remains Hopeful He Can Add to His Squad After Comprehensive Defeat at Man City

Newcastle manager Rafa Benitez spoke of his hope that transfer activity is still a possibility at St James' Park, after watching his team slide to a one-sided 3-1 defeat at Manchester City.

The Magpies were outclassed from start to finish as City continued their quest to win a third Premier League crown with a resounding victory.

The Toon boss spoke of his desire after the game to bring in some new players, and revealed recent conversations had given him hope that transfer activity was not out of the question. 

"In my last conversation with Mike Ashley he said we have the green light to sign players and I would like to see some of them come in before 31 January and I have confidence we will do it," Benitez said.

Image by Toby Cudworth

"It's the Premier League, everyone is spending a lot of money, that is why we expect something in this window. Hopefully we can see some new faces before the end of this window."

Benitez praised the performance of his side at the Etihad Stadium, despite the Magpies only having 18% possession during the contest. 

Speaking to BBC's Match of the Day, he said; "We wanted to stay in the game and we did it, the penalty was a bit soft and it changed everything. After we scored we had a couple of chances. 

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"I have been praising the players the whole season in terms of effort, sometimes it's a bit of luck. If you have a little bit of luck you can be ahead in some games."

Newcastle face a daunting trip to Stamford Bridge to face Chelsea in the FA Cup Fourth Round next weekend, before resuming their league campaign at home to Burnley a week on Wednesday.