THERE has been a lot of talk about ‘long-term potential’ and ‘winning major trophies’ this week, but Rafael Benitez admits Newcastle United cannot ignore the reality of starting next season in the Championship.

Benitez’s decision to remain at St James’ Park despite last season’s relegation, which was confirmed on Wednesday night, has fuelled a high degree of optimism amongst Newcastle supporters.

The Spaniard was happy to promote the feel-good factor during Wednesday’s press conference, citing the potential for a return to the upper echelons of the Premier League as a key factor behind his refusal to activate the release clause that would have enabled him to walk away from Tyneside.

Listening to Benitez speak of Newcastle’s size and stature, it was tempting to assume that last season’s struggles had been imagined, but reality will bite when the Championship fixtures are revealed next month, and the Magpies boss admits reputation will count for nothing once the second-tier action begins.

The Championship is full of clubs that would consider themselves deserving of a place in the Premier League, and while they bounced back at the first time of asking after their last relegation seven years ago, it would be dangerous for Newcastle to assume they will automatically repeat the feat next season, even with Benitez at the helm.

“I could say we are a massive club, but we have to remember that we are in the Championship and I am not stupid,” said the Newcastle manager. “We have to start thinking about what we want to do in the Championship to make sure that we can be in the Premier League.

“I could say, ‘We are this’ or ‘We are that’, but that will not change anything. We are where we are, and we want to be sure that next year we will be where we belong. But it has to be through hard work, being professionals and making the right decisions as much as we can.”

Since agreeing to remain on Wednesday, Benitez has held a series of meetings to address a number of the issues that are at the top of his in-tray.

He met managing director Lee Charnley and facilities manager Eddie Rutherford at the club’s training ground on Thursday to discuss the infrastructural changes he feels are required to ensure Newcastle are not left behind by the new generation of training facilities that are springing up across the country, before sitting down with academy manager Joe Joyce to discuss much-needed changes to the club’s youth set-up.

He has also held further transfer-related discussions with Charnley, and while he has publicly stated that he will not be required to sell anyone if he does not want to, privately there is an acceptance that it will be desirable for some players to leave in order to freshen up a squad that had quickly grown stale under Steve McClaren.

A number of high-profile players will be sold before the transfer window closes at the end of August, with Benitez keen to place his own stamp on the squad by making a number of additions.

The effective demotion of chief scout Graham Carr reduces the likelihood of those new signings coming from abroad, with Benitez open to the idea of cherry-picking some of the best players to have played in the Championship last season.

“We need good players,” said Benitez. “That means good players for us. That means maybe it will be a Premier League player, maybe it will be a Championship player because you need experience and character.

“Maybe it’s a young player with quality. I will not say that we will just bring this kind of player – we can bring anyone if it’s good enough for us.”

The current squad accept there will have to be changes, with goalkeeper Rob Elliot conceding that relegation proves there are fundamental problems that have to be addressed before Newcastle can reclaim a place amongst the elite.

“The most important thing now is getting the club back on track with Rafa at the helm,” said Elliot. “When you get relegated – and have gone close the year before – you have to hold your hands up and say that things aren’t right. And by that, I am talking about the players and the club.

“Hopefully, we make as many changes as we can to get us back to where we want to be and where we deserve to be. We need to move this club forward and hopefully we can look back and see that this was one step back to go two forward. That may be necessary, and hopefully it is only good for the club.”