RAFAEL BENITEZ is confident Newcastle United have a strong enough squad to compete on multiple fronts this season after tonight’s 2-0 win over Wolves secured a place in the fourth round of the EFL Cup.

First-half goals from Matt Ritchie and Yoan Gouffran booked a place in tomorrow’s last-16 draw, with the days of Newcastle fielding severely weakened teams in the cup competitions seemingly at an end.

Benitez made eight changes for tonight’s game, but the presence of the likes of Ritchie, Jonjo Shelvey and Jack Colback, not to mention debutants Daryl Murphy and Achraf Lazaar, meant the Magpies could hardly be described as second-string.

The club’s priority over the next few months is to challenge at the top end of the Championship table, but Benitez does not regard an extended EFL Cup campaign as an unwanted distraction.

“The fans will want to hear that we will go and win the final, and it could be easy for me to say that,” said the Newcastle boss, who was unable to win the League Cup with either Liverpool or Chelsea. “What I would say is that we want to be ambitious, and we want to go for every game and try to win.

“If we cannot, we cannot, but we will try. We have the right players. We changed eight players today, but we could still compete. That is my idea – to make sure we can play a strong team that can compete against anyone.

“If we go forward in the competition, we will challenge and we will try. If we cannot (succeed) it is maybe because we are not strong enough to go further, but we will try.

“It is important for us, and for the players, to feel that there is a lot of competition. That is good for everyone. The players know they have to go on the pitch and do their best, and it doesn’t matter about the competition or the game. That is a key factor if we want to be strong, and successfully manage the number of games we are going to play this year.”

Ritchie opened the scoring with a deft side-footed finish, but it was Gouffran’s explosive strike two minutes later that really captured the imagination.

The Frenchman scored a sensational volley at Derby earlier this month, and added another fine goal to his collection when he met Ritchie’s right-wing cross with a crisp first-time strike. He has made seven appearances for Newcastle this season, and the Magpies have won all seven of those games.

Gouffran looked to be on his way out of St James’ Park in the summer, but a potential move to French club Lorient failed to come to fruition, and Benitez is delighted the 30-year-old was able to remain on Tyneside.

“I was pleased with Gouff in pre-season,” he said. “I was expecting some offers for him, but we had one and that was not good enough.  After that, I was expecting that another one would come, but we were watching him close and he was training really well.

“I was talking with my staff and saying that it could be better to keep him. I am really pleased for him because when you have someone working so hard, he deserves some luck sometimes.”

Tonight’s victory ensured Newcastle made at least partial amends for Saturday’s league defeat at the hands of Wolves.

Three days earlier, the Magpies had been comprehensively outplayed by the same opponents, but with both sides making a host of changes, Benitez’s side were always in control second time around.

“It obviously feels much better,” said the Newcastle boss. “We wanted to win and we did. We changed players and gave an opportunity to different players, but we had to win and go through and we did it with two great goals and a clean sheet. It was very positive.

“We gave an opportunity to some players that hadn’t been playing, alongside some players who had been playing games. That balance allowed us to give some match fitness to some players, and it was also an opportunity for the players to show their levels. The mix of players was good in the end.”