MIKE ASHLEY hopes fresh interest shown in buying Newcastle United from a couple of interested parties will increase the chances of him striking a deal to sell before the end of the year.

But even if an agreement can be reached over a fee for the club – with Amanda Staveley still regarded as the most serious contender at this stage – then Rafael Benitez is already gearing up for a battle over transfer funds for the January transfer window.

Newcastle suffered the sixth defeat of their last seven matches against Leicester City on Saturday, woeful form which has seen them drop to within two points of the relegation zone having made a positive start to life back in the Premier League.

Now every time Newcastle walk off the pitch after another 90 minutes of top-flight football the outcome of the games are having an effect on what is going on behind-the-scenes too.

Staveley is believed to have offered considerably less than the £400m price-tag which Ashley had initially placed on the club, and defeats like that against Leicester are heightening the chances of relegation to the Championship.

Falling into the second tier would clearly mean a huge blow to Ashley’s investment, which is why Staveley has not been keen to over-spend when there is still a chance Newcastle will be outside the Premier League next season.

Ashley met with Staveley last Thursday and discussions are ongoing. It is understood there has been tentative interest expressed again from a couple of interested groups – one, it has been claimed, could be willing to pay more than £300m.

Having struggled to sell for the figure he had hoped for it is now believed Ashley is willing to lower his asking price, even if Staveley and the PCP Capital Partners group she represents remain reluctant to increase their offer.

Even if a deal can be struck, the actual change of ownership is unlikely to happen until late-January or early-February.

While the takeover talk rumbles on, it remains distracting to the football side of things because Benitez knows his squad needs improvements to boost the chances of survival.

He was linked with a move for Vitesse’s winger Milot Rashica over the weekend and the Newcastle manager does have targets in mind.

He does not, though, know to what level the budget will be for spending next month.

Benitez will keep asking the questions to managing director Lee Charnley and a meeting is due soon to finalise a plan for when the window opens. He also knows, though, that he needs the players he already has to turn things around before January 1.

He said: “I can only concentrate on preparing the team for the next game, that is it.”

Before the turn of the year, Newcastle face Arsenal, West Ham, Manchester City and Brighton after this Wednesday’s visit of Everton to St James’ Park. After conceding 15 goals in the last five matches, it is conceivable that Newcastle could be in the bottom three before Christmas.

Benitez said: “We have to do it, I have to keep going because I see how hard the players work, how hard they train everyday so it’s just a question of cutting out the mistakes. Sometimes you make mistakes and you are not punished, but every mistake seems to be a goal we concede.

“At the start of September you could see it could be a difficult season. I’ve said that all along, unfortunately.

“For sure this team can stay up, I think we can do it, but it depends on the other teams. If they have two or three chances and they take two of them, then you will suffer. We have to create more chances if possible and not give them so many.

"I think the supporters are smart, they have known since day one that it is going to be a tough season now it is just a question of realising it is going to be like this. The only way you can change things is by working harder and better.”

The longer the winless run goes on the greater the frustrations and there were visible signs of that against Leicester, when an own goal from Ayoze Perez with four minutes remaining sealed the points for the visitors. It was 2-2 at that stage because Joselu and Dwight Gayle’s goals had cancelled out Riyad Mahrez and Demarai Gray’s for the Foxes.

Benitez said: “I think the supporters appreciate the situation but it is difficult, when you lose another game, to try to explain everything, but this team is working so hard, it is trying so hard to win games.  "We are reacting in the right way when things are going wrong, but we have to learn to manage the situation, we are still making a lot of mistakes and it is quite difficult for everybody. All we can do is keep working harder.

“People (players) were very disappointed, it’s not easy when you lose a game at home when the atmosphere was as good as that. The way that we lost the game, it is hard.

“What I said before, and I will say it again, the only way is for players, supporters, staff and everyone to stick together. It is not the time to make excuses, it is the time to analyse what is going on and improve quickly.”

Leicester had taken the lead when Mahrez and Gray’s goals in the 20th and 60th minutes had overturned the fifth minute lead Joselu had given the hosts.

And when Gayle equalised with 17 minutes remaining it had looked like Newcastle would earn at least a point – only for Perez to find his own net as he attempted to prevent Shinji Okazaki from hitting the winner.  Benitez said: "I'm really disappointed because it's a game we started well with high tempo, intensity, scoring and on top of them.

"Then we conceded a goal and they were on top. In the second half, we were organised and compact, then a long ball and a second ball and we conceded.

"Then we got a goal, we were 'fine', but another mistake, another counter attack, and we didn't get a draw.  "We have to manage in a good way when we are doing well and stop making easy mistakes. I thought we were in control at 2-2 and I thought it could be easier to score for us than them, but then another mistake and a counter attack and we concede.

"We have to understand that the only way it to keep working harder and don't make these mistakes. The players put an effort in on the pitch, but still we need to improve if we want to get three points out of games.

"I told the players the way they started the game and the reaction was a positive thing, but still we need to learn and improve. It is a long season and we have to carry on. These players are young, they work very hard and we have to make sure they keep getting better.”

While Newcastle look for the win that could kickstart their campaign again, Leicester march on. They have moved up to eighth after losing just one of their last 11 matches and that was to Manchester City.  Leicester full-back Ben Chilwell said: “Newcastle’s second goal could have been a big moment in the match. There was a lot of time left and you could see they were really up for it and so were the crowd. We could have dropped our heads and lost the game, but it was good to show resilience and then went on to win the game."