RAFAEL BENITEZ remains hopeful Newcastle United will avoid relegation to the Championship, but admits the club are in a “bad position” after their goalless draw at Aston Villa.

With Sunderland claiming a 3-2 win over Chelsea, Newcastle’s Villa Park stalemate leaves them a point behind their North-East rivals and means they will be relegated if the Black Cats beat Everton on Wednesday night.

Even if Sunderland fail to claim a point against the Toffees, they will still condemn Newcastle to the second tier if they win at Watford on the final day of the season, no matter what the Magpies do in their own final game against Spurs.

Newcastle’s fate is now in Sunderland’s hands, but Benitez is refusing to throw in the towel while there is still a chance of survival, no matter how small.

“The situation is bad, but we just have to wait now,” said the Newcastle boss. “We have to try to win (against Spurs), although it will obviously depend on what they (Sunderland) do during the week.

“It can still be done, although obviously it depends on them (Sunderland) more than us now. Still though, if they cannot win the next game, then we have to fight in our last game, try to get three points, and see what happens.”

Newcastle were unable to break down a Villa side that had lost their previous 11 matches, with their failings in front of goal once again returning to haunt them.

The Magpies did not create a single opportunity of note in the first half, and with Jack Colback and Aleksandar Mitrovic both failing to find the target when well placed after the interval, the overall quality of their attacking was extremely poor.

“I think that we didn’t play well,” admitted Benitez. “Maybe because we had too much anxiety. The players were tense and we couldn’t do what we wanted.

“There was a better reaction in the second half and the team was creating some chances, and at least we were getting close to the box and pushing and pushing.

“But when you have so many people defending behind the ball, you cannot find a clear chance. You need to score, but they know that on the counter-attack they can be dangerous.

“In that situation, you have to be very precise, and when you give the ball away, you lose confidence and it becomes quite difficult. And when you are under pressure, you make more mistakes.”

Attention now turns to Sunderland’s home game with Everton in four days’ time, and Benitez, a former Liverpool boss, is still to decide whether to watch events unfolding at the Stadium of Light.

“Maybe we will watch the game, but what we do doesn’t change too much,” he said. “The main thing is that if they don’t get the result, then afterwards we have to be ready.”