RAFAEL BENITEZ is confident Newcastle United will be in a position to hit the ground running when they kick off the new Championship season at Fulham.

Today’s release of the fixtures for the new campaign has handed the Magpies a trip to Craven Cottage on Friday, August 5, before their opening home game pits them against Huddersfield Town eight days later.

Benitez will welcome the majority of his players back into pre-season training on July 1, and while there are likely to be a number of changes in the wake of last season’s relegation, the Spaniard is confident he will be presiding over a squad capable of winning promotion.

“I am not the kind of manager who is really worried about the fixtures and our rivals,” said Benitez. “My idea is that you have to play against everyone, and when you will play against them doesn't change too much in theory.

"What we do have to do is to prepare our team in the best way possible, to make sure we are strong enough to start the season in a good way, and to carry on until the end.

"You can say that we will play against Fulham in the first game, away and live (on television), but it doesn't change too much for me. Will it be difficult? Yes. Do we have to respect them? Yes.

"But the main thing is how good will we be this day, and how good we have to be during the whole season.”

Newcastle have been installed as short-priced favourites to win the Championship title, but the Magpies will not have things their own way given the depth of quality that exists in the second tier.

Aston Villa and Norwich are also expected to invest in an attempt to return to the top-flight at the first time of asking, and the likes of Derby, Brighton, Sheffield Wednesday and Ipswich also boast extensive experience of battling for promotion.

“There are a lot of ex-Premier League teams playing in the Championship now, so the level is higher,” said Benitez, in an interview with Newcastle’s official website. “I think it will be very interesting.

“There is more quality around the division, so I think that you will see better games - and it will always be exciting.”

Newcastle finish the season with a home game against Barnsley, and will also be at home on both Boxing Day and New Year’s Eve – against Sheffield Wednesday and Nottingham Forest respectively – and with season-ticket sales holding up well despite last season’s relegation, Benitez expects the fans to play a pivotal role over the course of the next 11 months.

"I think that the fans make the difference for us," he said. "Last year, in the time that I was here, they were amazing, and hopefully they will be the same this season.

"You see the stadium, you see everything here, the atmosphere - it has to be intimidating for our rivals, and we have to win our games at home."