Newcastle are safe in the Premier League for another season, and manager Rafa Benitez believes this has been a ‘special’ campaign.
The Magpies have been on a good run in recent weeks, confirming their safety and surpassing the 40 points mark. If we can pick up a win from one of our remaining games, we’ll beat last season’s points tally of 44.
While we won’t be finishing in the top half again, there have certainly been things to be positive about, even if we have an almost identical record to last season.
“I think our season has been special,” Benitez said ahead of the game with Liverpool.
“We didn’t start well, and I remember the questions about being much better away from home.
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“Little by little it has become the opposite, and that means more fans are enjoying our games.”
Benitez made St James’ Park a fortress again
Going to St James’ Park has been a joy in 2019, winning six Premier League games out of eight. This is quite the contrast to the start of the season, where we really struggled at home.
We looked better suited to playing away, but fortunately that’s changed.
Despite the contract situation surrounding Benitez, there has been a pretty positive atmosphere inside St James’ Park in recent months, which is down to the performances on the pitch.
Ever since we beat Manchester City, our home form has been excellent. That was a great night for the fans; the atmosphere was electric. Another special game was the comeback against Everton, which some would argue was even more enjoyable.
We have one more chance to have a special night, as we take on title-chasing Liverpool in the final home game of the season.