Newcastle United Boss Rafa Benitez Worried Lack of Experience May Be Decisive in Relegation Battle

Newcastle United manager Rafa Benitez is worried that the Magpies' lack of experience may prove to be decisive in the relegation battle. 

Newcastle seemed to be cruising to three points at Dean Court on Saturday when Dwight Gayle gave the visitors a 2-0 lead just before half-time. 

Benitez's side wasted a number of chances to stretch their advantage in the second-half, before Bournemouth scored two late goals and the game ended in a 2-2 stalemate. 

The point, which should have been three, means the Magpies drop to 15th in the league table, just two points ahead of 18th-placed Swansea. 

Speaking after the game, Benitez was clearly worried with how his side threw away the two points, and admitted that his team's lack of experience in such situations may be decisive factor come the end of the season. 

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“You have to keep going until the game ends but you have to stay calm and make the right decisions,” the former Liverpool boss is quoted as saying by the Telegraph. 

“This is what can happen when you play at this level against very good players. Our team is a young team and we need a bit more experience to manage situations like this.

"The team did well against Man United but we have done well against Everton [a 1-0 loss], Leicester [3-2 loss] and Bournemouth in the first half. We have a situation where we are creating chances but missing a little bit this experience or quality.”

“So when we saw [Christian] Atsu pass the ball, everybody was thinking, ‘Goal. That’s it’. After it, we conceded the goal and, like I say, you have to manage the situation much better. 

"You are in control then miss a chance, concede a goal and then you are panicking.”