RAFAEL BENITEZ remains confident Newcastle United can avoid relegation in the final seven games of the season, but admits his side cannot afford to keep making the mistakes that have left them on the brink of the drop following a 3-2 defeat at Norwich City.

Newcastle are now six points adrift of 17th-placed Norwich, with a markedly inferior goal difference, after Martin Olsson’s stoppage-time strike condemned them to a hugely damaging eighth successive league away defeat.

While the Magpies have a game in hand over a Norwich side who have now taken six points from their last two matches, it is hard to see how they can haul themselves to safety.

They showed a semblance of spirit as they twice came from behind at Carrow Road, and Benitez is clinging to his side’s battling display in the final 20 minutes as proof that they are capable of stringing together some back-to-back victories.

However, the Spaniard also acknowledges that an already difficult situation has now become even more precarious.

“I knew before that it would be very difficult, but I had the confidence that we could do it,” said Benitez, who must now prepare his side for Saturday’s trip to Southampton, where Newcastle have suffered a 4-0 defeat on each of their last two visits. “After the game (at Norwich) we have lost, and we are where we are, so we have to concentrate now on the next seven games.

“My idea is one game at a time, and I’m sure that if we play at the level we played in the second half, we can win against a lot of teams in the Premier League, but we have to be more consistent and do this for 90 minutes and not just the second half.

“Now we have a difficult situation, but we knew it might be difficult. We have to concentrate on our jobs and, as a manager, I have to make sure I don’t make mistakes too. With this confidence, we can do it.”

There was precious little cause for confidence on Saturday as Newcastle’s defence creaked repeatedly in the face of some spirited Norwich attacking.

Vurnon Anita’s limitations as a makeshift left-back were evident from the outset, and neither Chancel Mbemba nor Steven Taylor were capable of shackling Norwich’s powerful striker Dieumerci Mbokani, who scored his side’s second goal.

The return of Cheick Tiote did little to shore up the base of midfield, while Papiss Cisse missed a glorious second-half opportunity as he failed to find the target from the edge of the six-yard box.

“I would say that for the first ten minutes we started well, everything was fine, and then we made two or three mistakes,” said Benitez. “We were talking about that, that we cannot do that.

“We have to play simple and have more confidence, but when you make these mistakes in the position we are in, it becomes more difficult.

“We conceded a late goal (in the first half) with a free-kick we could maybe have avoided, but afterwards the reaction in the second half was what I was expecting to see from my team. Then there was another mistake, and these things are what we have to manage if we want to win more points and stay up.”

Fabricio Coloccini returned to training last week, and Benitez has hinted the skipper may return to the heart of the back four at St Mary’s.

“To have more players is always important because then you have more competition, but they have to be fit, they have to be in the best condition possible for the fight we have at the moment,” he said.

“He (Coloccini) will be training and we’ll see how he feels and then we’ll decide, but the good thing is that if they are coming back then at least we have that competition and that can only be good for the team.”

Newcastle improved when Aleksandar Mitrovic came off the bench to replace Anita midway through the second half, and Benitez would have started with the striker had he not been on international duty in Estonia in the middle of last week.

“He (Mitrovic) came late after the international break,” he said. “We have players flying around the world, and players training with you.

“When we were 1-0 down, we had to play everyone. The substitutions worked well, but you have to decide before the game who is in form or who has done well in training during the whole week.

“You need to see who can help. It happened like this, but it was good for Mitrovic because he scored two and it can be good for his confidence and the rest of the season if he keeps scoring goals.”