NEWCASTLE UNITED officials are unconcerned at West Ham’s mounting interest in Rafael Benitez, and are confident the club’s current manager will still be around to spearhead their return to the Premier League provided promotion is achieved in the next six weeks.

Benitez came close to joining West Ham two years ago, only for Real Madrid to lure him to the Bernabeu, and the Spaniard remains highly regarded within the corridors of power at the London Stadium.

Hammers joint-chairman David Sullivan will assess Slaven Bilic’s position in the summer as part of a post-season review, with the former centre-half understood to be under considerable pressure after a run of five games without a win returned West Ham to the bottom half of the table.

Sources in London expect Benitez to top the Hammers’ wanted list if Bilic is dismissed, but the Newcastle hierarchy are not worried about the prospect of outside interest in their manager.

Benitez’s future was the subject of considerable conjecture in January, when he was unable to hide his disappointment at the club’s failure to sign anyone during the transfer window.

With a deal for Andros Townsend having failed to come to fruition, and with Mike Ashley’s reassertion of his influence over transfer matters having raised questions about Newcastle’s future direction, Benitez was unwilling to publicly discuss his position beyond the end of the season.

Since then, however, things have calmed down considerably, and the former Liverpool and Chelsea boss has been heavily involved in discussions to identify potential transfer targets in the event of promotion.

Benitez enjoys a healthy working relationship with managing director Lee Charnley, and is understood to be satisfied at the level of support he is expected to receive once the transfer window reopens.

With promotion guaranteeing a minimum income of around £100m next season, Ashley will sanction some significant spending in the summer, albeit with strings attached in terms of the type of player he would prefer to see targeted. At this stage, however, Benitez appears willing to work within those parameters.

He regards his rebuilding job at St James’ Park as an ongoing project, and enjoys being located close to his family home on the Wirral.

As a result, Newcastle’s rulers do not expect him to leave Tyneside at the end of the season, even if he is offered alternative employment in the Premier League.

An opportunity to join a club capable of challenging for the title could present a problem, but West Ham do not fall into that category and it is hard to see Benitez being approached by any of the clubs currently occupying a top-six position, even in the event of Arsenal dispensing with the services of Arsene Wenger.

The Spaniard’s immediate priority is ensuring Newcastle complete the task of securing automatic promotion in the final eight games of season, with Saturday’s home game with Wigan Athletic representing the first opportunity to edge closer to the top-flight.

Isaac Hayden will be available to face the Latics after recovering from the ankle injury that ruled him out of the Magpies’ last nine matches, and while he accepts that recent home performances have not been ideal, he expects to see an improvement in the games that remain.

Newcastle have taken just one point from their last two outings at St James’ Park, but Hayden expects an improved return from this week’s games against Wigan and Burton provided his side add some impetus to their attacking.

“We’ve found it a little bit difficult over the last couple of months,” said Hayden. “All season, we haven’t been as good at home as we have been away, which is obviously something we want to change for the last few games.

“The main thing for us is just focusing on what we need to do, listening to the manager and staying calm, and making sure that we go out on the pitch and perform like we know we can do.

“I think we just need to be on the front foot a little bit more, take the game to teams a little bit easier, and the quicker we can get the goals, the quicker the games are over.”