WHEN it comes to summarising the vagaries of life at Newcastle United, no one put it better than Sir Bobby Robson.

“The highs couldn’t be higher,” said the former Magpies boss. “But when it comes to the lows, I could have done with my pitman’s helmet…” Goodness only knows what Sir Bobby would have made of the last three-and-a-half months.

As Rafael Benitez admitted in the wake of Sunday’s dispiriting defeat to Huddersfield Town, May’s promotion celebrations already feel “a long time ago”. The euphoria of the Championship title lasted about as long as it took for the reality of Mike Ashley’s financial restrictions to set in, and on the back of two defeats in the opening two games of the season, a familiar sense of despair and frustration has enveloped Tyneside.

“That is just the way life is here,” said Ayoze Perez, who has experienced enough contrasting emotions to last a footballing lifetime since moving to Newcastle in 2014. “I think it is because everyone in the city loves Newcastle, and they really feel the club and the football as part of their life.

“They have that passion, and that means you feel everything even more strongly, whether good or bad. You have to realise that to understand how things are here.

“I like the fact that passion exists. Everyone is entitled to their opinion, but sometimes it cannot be as good as people are saying at one time or as bad as they are saying at another. Sometimes, it is not as good as it seems, and sometimes it is not as bad either.

“As a player, you have to stay level-headed and focus on your game. Those kind of things are always going to be in football, but you cannot let them affect you. Mentally, you have to be strong enough to cope.”

At Newcastle, however, the ‘bigger picture’ always feels impossible to avoid. The size of the club can be a boon, but it can also be a millstone, dragging the Magpies to the centre of national attention when other teams in a similar situation would not be expected to air their dirty washing in public.

Every former player within a mile of a microphone appears to have had their say on Newcastle’s situation in the last few days, with Jamie Carragher creating headlines on Monday night as he accused Rafael Benitez of being “far too negative” and “basically saying the players he’s got aren’t good enough”. Joey Barton, who had his share of run-ins with Ashley during his time at St James’ Park, claimed Benitez should stop sniping at the owner and concentrate on “coaching the team”.  

The comments have helped fuel a sense of mounting crisis, but while Rob Elliot admitted on Sunday that the joy of May’s promotion success had been “shrouded” by subsequent events, Perez insists it is important to not pay too much attention to external voices, no matter how well respected they might be.

“You have to be very careful with that,” he said. “The media and TV say a lot of things, and if you pay too much attention, you can start thinking a lot of things that don’t do you too much good. It is not good for the players to pay too much attention to what people are saying about them, no matter who they are.

“You have to stay focused on the games coming up and what the gaffer is saying about you. You always have to be thinking about how to improve and get better, but you have to do that yourself. That is how you will improve and win games.”

Newcastle’s next chance to return to winning ways comes this evening as they host Nottingham Forest in the second round of the Carabao Cup.

Benitez is set to make a number of changes from the side that lost at Huddersfield on Saturday, and Perez is one of the players who could find themselves sacrificed in order to guarantee his availability for Saturday’s Premier League game with West Ham.

That won’t go down well with some fans, who remain unhappy at managing director Lee Charnley’s previous insistence that the cups “were not a priority”. Perez accepts there is a powerful yearning for silverware after a 48-year wait for a major trophy, but remains confident of a much-needed result to help kick-start Newcastle’s season no matter who takes to the field.

“It is a great test for us,” he said. “It is an opportunity to show character and try to do good things. It can give us confidence, winning that game. It could be crucial because it could push us to get better and be focused for West Ham.

“Of course the Premier League is the main thing, but this kind of game can give you confidence and you can start doing things in the right way. We have just started the season, and it is a great test for us to make sure we are getting better for the Premier League.”