RAFAEL BENITEZ is refusing to get too carried away by Newcastle United’s fantastic recent run, but with his side sitting in fourth position in the table, the Magpies manager concedes his players have given themselves some welcome ‘breathing space’ on their return to the top-flight.

Since losing their opening two games of the season, Newcastle have embarked on a three-game winning run that has lifted them to their highest league placing since Alan Pardew’s side graced the top four in the second half of the 2011-12 campaign.

Their 2-1 victory over Stoke City means they are already almost a quarter of the way to the 40-point mark that traditionally guarantees safety, and while Benitez insists there is still plenty of room for improvement, he is nevertheless delighted to have seen his side successfully lift the pressure that was building at the end of last month.

That should mean they can play with a greater degree of freedom when they travel to Brighton this weekend, and make it easier to handle any inevitable dips in form in the next few months.

“Getting points on the board early gives you the confidence to do things,” said Benitez, who made a successful return to the dug-out after completing his recovery from surgery. “When I came here, we couldn’t afford to make any mistakes. Now, we know we have time to improve things.

“If we do make mistakes, we don’t need to panic and can carry on doing the things we have to do. The players will appreciate that.

“I am delighted we have won three games in a row, but the main thing for me was to see the team working as hard as they were. There were a lot of positives and the team is believing in themselves, but there are also still a lot of things to improve.”

For the second weekend in a row, Newcastle’s work rate was a key factor in their success, with each and every player running themselves into the ground in an attempt to close down the opposition before springing on the counter-attack.

Prior to Benitez’s arrival, a succession of Newcastle teams featured players whose attitude and commitment could be questioned. Those players have now departed, and while their replacements might not boast the same profile or price tag, their hunger and desire are more than compensating for any discrepancy in quality.

Benitez deserves credit for that, with the likes of Ciaran Clark, Isaac Hayden, Matt Ritchie, Mikel Merino, Christian Atsu and Joselu all having made a major impact since arriving on his recommendation.

“They are showing the fans that they care,” he said. “When I pick players, I need to be sure I am choosing players who really want it and are not always making excuses when they make mistakes. I want players who will make sure they react in the right way.

“The main thing is the togetherness, work rate and character from the whole team. The connection with the fans means the fans appreciate that.

“It is really important that players want to stay, want to fight, want to defend their black-and-white shirt. They’re doing that, and I think the fans appreciate that. For us to do that every week, and have the captain leading by example, is something you have to be really pleased about.

“The character of the team is good. We have players who will keep trying from the beginning to the end. I will always tell them that if something is wrong, we have to keep going and be sure we don’t change or panic.

“We know they will react well, and that is fine. If we do things that we are not working on during training sessions, I would be worried. Then, maybe the message is not there. But I think they know it is better to follow the game plan.”

Even the most optimistic of Newcastle supporters would not have expected their side to be in the top four at this stage after losing to Tottenham and Huddersfield in the opening weeks of the season, but Benitez was always confident his players would turn things around.

He might have bemoaned Mike Ashley’s failure to recruit in the final days of the transfer window, but that should not be interpreted as a criticism of the players at his disposal.

“The team has not really surprised me because I watch them in training every day and they train well,” he said. “There are things we are not doing well, but I can see where we can improve.

“There are three or four things we can improve. The players are trying to understand the way we have to play our game. We have to play with our own style of play. We are not a team that have a lot of possession, so we have to play to our strengths and we are doing that now.”