RAFAEL BENITEZ is not worried about Matz Sels’ frame of mind despite the Newcastle goalkeeper suffering a barrage on online abuse in the wake of Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Aston Villa.

Sels was partially to blame as Aaron Tshibola headed home a late equaliser for Villa, and the Belgian has made a series of mistakes since completing a £4.5m move from Gent in the summer.

He received a large amount of online criticism in the wake of his performance at Villa Park, and was forced to close down his Twitter account because of the level of the abuse.

However, Benitez is not concerned about his mood ahead of tomorrow’s home game with Norwich City, and has been happy with his performances on the training ground in the last 48 hours.

The Newcastle boss said: “He (Sels) was fine. They are professionals and they have to deal with this kind of situation.

“He has done well in some games - in other games, like me, like anyone, you make mistakes. He has done well.

“He is a young lad and he has come from another country. We know how hard it can be to settle down but he just needs to keep working hard and trying to improve his game.”

Benitez has, however, warned his players about paying too much attention to social media, and has recommended they do not enter into online debates with supporters.

He said: “There is a way to deal with things. If you need something to promote your views or image that is fine, but you cannot be interacting with everyone because it would be impossible to manage.

“We have to concentrate on football. If you have Twitter or another social media account, use it to communicate, but not for interaction. You do not know who is behind a message, so how can you interact? It’s important the players concentrate on their football.

“You can message someone telling them something, but who is the other person making those comments? It’s better to ignore that and concentrate on your football - that is what you can improve. Ignore that, listen to your goalkeeping coach and that’s how you can improve and make yourself better.”

Benitez has no new injury problems to contend with ahead of tomorrow’s game, with DeAndre Yedlin having suffered from the knock he sustained in the closing stages of Saturday’s draw.