Rafa Benitez is stepping up his bid to add new players to his Newcastle United squad before the transfer deadline at the end of the month.

The Newcastle boss has revealed he is in daily touch with managing director Lee Charnley as they attempt to land up to four players.

Benitez said:”We’ve still got a lot of work to do. We are working hard and I check with Lee Charnley every day.

“We are talking with agents and thinking about what we have to do to improve the team and make sure the squad has the right number of players.

“It’s not easy, though. As soon as Premier League clubs had more money, it became difficult because everybody is spending big money.

“We have targets and are working on them. Hopefully we will do something sooner rather than later.”

United’s next game is at Bristol City tomorrow, where manager Lee Johnson is relishing the chance to pit his wits against a man with Benitez’s pedigree.

Benitez said:”I am really pleased to see a new young manager doing so well. We can chat. But the first thing will be to win the game, then we can talk about anything.

“We know we’ll be playing against team that are extra motivated.  Bristol are doing well and have confidence. All our games will be tough but this one may be particularly tough.”