RAFAEL BENITEZ is not expected to make a snap decision over his future at Newcastle United this weekend, even though his relegation release clause becomes active once the Magpies complete their final game of the season against Tottenham.

With Newcastle’s relegation to the Championship having been confirmed when Sunderland beat Everton on Wednesday, tomorrow’s game at St James’ Park is effectively a dead rubber, but off the pitch, club officials are attempting to come to terms with the ramifications of dropping into the second tier.

Their chief priority is to resolve the managerial situation, and Lee Charnley outlined a strong desire to retain Benitez when he met the Spaniard for face-to-face talks at Newcastle’s training ground on Thursday.

Mike Ashley described Benitez as “formidable” in an open letter sent to Newcastle’s supporters yesterday, with other comments contained within the statement effectively confirming that the sportswear magnate will not be looking to sell up this summer.

Senior club sources have described discussions with Benitez as “positive”, and the former Liverpool and Chelsea boss is understood to have expressed a willingness to at least seriously consider remaining in his current position despite this week’s demotion.

Benitez insisted on the inclusion of a release clause when he agreed to take over from Steve McClaren at the start of last month, and will be free to walk away from his £5m-a-year deal from the start of next week.

However, he is set to meet Charnley for further talks once tomorrow’s game has been concluded as he attempts to secure some guarantees about what will be expected of him if he remains in his current position this summer.

In particular, Benitez wants assurances that he will have a high degree of control over all transfer matters and a firm indication of how much will have to be trimmed from the wage bill now that Newcastle’s annual television income is set to drop to around £35m.

Some departures are inevitable, with Tim Krul, Daryl Janmaat, Georginio Wijnaldum and Moussa Sissoko expected to be at the front of a queue of players leaving St James’.

Janmaat is already edging towards the exit door, with the Italian media claiming that the full-back’s representatives have been in talks with the hierarchy at Juventus about a possible £7m deal.

However, Benitez will not want to lose all of his senior players, and the likes of Chancel Mbemba, Jack Colback, Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic could all have roles to play next season if they can be persuaded to remain in the North-East.

The status of January arrivals Andros Townsend and Jonjo Shelvey is harder to assess, as the pair both signed deals worth around £80,000-a-week when they agreed to move to Newcastle at the start of the year.

Their futures could well on hinge on the extent of Mike Ashley’s willingness to plug the anticipated gap between Newcastle’s current revenue figures and their projected income in the Championship.

When the Magpies were last relegated in 2009, Ashley pumped around £30m into the club in the form of an interest-free loan, enabling the likes of Fabricio Coloccini, Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jonas Gutierrez to remain part of the club’s squad in the second tier.

Whether he will be willing to do the same again remains to be seen, but if he intends to sell Newcastle at some stage in the future, his prospects of receiving what he would regard as an acceptable figure would be greatly enhanced by a return to the top-flight.

If Newcastle are to sell a number of their senior players, the spotlight will fall on some of their younger contingent, who will be expected to step up to the first-team ranks.

Adam Armstrong is one player who could play a prominent role in the Championship, having scored 20 League One goals while on loan at Coventry City this season.

Armstrong will re-join the Newcastle squad at the start of pre-season training, and is determined to force his way into the first-team picture on Tyneside.

“Obviously, being a Newcastle lad, I want to try and get in the first team,” said the striker. “If you ask any footballer, they want to work hard in pre-season to try and get in the team, and if that doesn’t work out, then loan is probably going to be the option again. I’m just going to wait and see, train hard and see what happens.

“I’ll be going back to Newcastle for pre-season and will see how that goes. I’m also going away with England Under-19s in July for the Euros.

“I think my confidence and all-round game (has improved). I think I won’t be scared to try stuff now when I go back to Newcastle. Being such a young lad, I think I’m more confident on and off the pitch. It’s been a good experience all round.”