Rafa Benitez Insists Newcastle Want More to Ensure Premier League Survival After Crucial

Rafa Benitez was delighted with the amount of effort his players put in during their 2-1 victory against Leicester at the King Power Stadium on Saturday. 

The win means that the Magpies have now won three consecutive Premier League games, and are now 10 points clear of the relegation places with just six games left to play.

Jonjo Shelvey bagged his first Premier League goal for Newcastle when he coolly finished 20 yards from goal to put the visitors ahead before Ayoze Perez added a second with a delightful lob over a helpless Kasper Schmeichel in the second half. Jamie Vardy did half the deficit late on, but Benitez's men held on for the crucial win.

"I am really pleased," Benitez told Sky Sports. "The players worked really hard, fighting for every single ball.

"Every single player was trying their best and that is what you need to do if you want to stay up. Obviously you always have a game plan, but it is down to the players - and they executed it very well. 

"We managed a team with very good players really well. There were three, four tackles going in at once - it was a proper English match."

Benitez insisted that Newcastle still need a few more points on the board to ensure their Premier League status,continuing: "We are very close, but still need two more points. Obviously we are closer than three hours ago. We will see next week."

Newcastle's win on Saturday sees them climb up to the top half of the table in 10th place. They will be looking to seal their survival when they host Arsenal next weekend.