RAFAEL BENITEZ has told his Newcastle United players to forget about trying to attract followers on social media – and instead focus their attention on picking up the points that are needed to secure promotion back to the Premier League.

The Magpies host Championship leaders Norwich City tonight looking to close the four-point gap that currently separates them from the Canaries, who accompanied them as they dropped into the second tier last season.

The game, which will attract a crowd of almost 50,000, is the biggest match of the Championship season so far, but the build-up has been overshadowed by a social media row concerning Newcastle goalkeeper Matz Sels.

Sels, whose form in the opening two months of the season has attracted mounting criticism, has been forced to close his Twitter account after he was repeatedly abused for his role in Aston Villa’s equalising goal in Saturday’s 1-1 draw at Villa Park.

The Belgian is expected to retain his place in tonight’s starting line-up, and while Benitez has once again called on Newcastle supporters to stick with the club’s players through thick and thin, he does not have much sympathy for any member of his squad who leaves themselves open to online abuse.

“Every year, we sit down as a squad and talk about referees, big decisions and also social media and how to manage it,” said the Magpies manager. “It is part of life now – Snapchat, Instagram and all those things on the phone – but sometimes the best way to deal with it is to forget about it.

“Some players have a name and an image, and that is fine, but sometimes it is best to forget about social media and concentrate on your job. You don’t improve on the pitch with the more followers you have.

“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?

“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.”

Sels took the decision to come off social media himself, and it is understood the Belgian is aware of some of the things that were written after Aaron Tshibola headed home Villa’s 88th-minute equaliser at the weekend.

Benitez has spoken with him on the training ground in the last 24 hours, though, and is satisfied his performance will not be adversely affected by the fall-out from events at Villa Park.

“Matz is a really good professional, and he is okay and training well,” he said. “He has been working with Simon (Smith), the goalkeeping coach, and has been working on the training pitch with Karl (Darlow).

“We have been working as usual and he is being treated as normal. It doesn’t have to be a problem, but whether he plays, you’ll have to wait and see.”

DeAndre Yedlin will continue at right-back tonight, having recovered from the knock he sustained at the weekend, but Benitez could opt to shuffle his attacking resources with both Aleksandar Mitrovic and Daryl Murphy hoping to replace Dwight Gayle in the lone-striker role.

Norwich moved to the top of the table when they claimed a 3-1 win over Burton at the weekend, and Alex Neill’s side have won six of their last seven matches in all competitions.

Their form has been more consistent than Newcastle’s in the opening two months of the season, and plenty of pundits expect tonight’s opponents to fill the two automatic promotion places come the end of the campaign.

The likes of Brighton and Huddersfield will have something to say about that, but Benitez will be looking much closer to home as he searches for potential obstacles to promotion.

Newcastle spurned a host of chances as they failed to beat Villa, while their last home league game saw defensive mistakes prove costly as they lost to Wolves. Few would contest they boast the strongest squad in the division, but even Benitez accepts that is no guarantee of promotion if they continue to shoot themselves in the foot.

“Maybe our biggest rivals will be ourselves,” he said. “That’s why we have to be sure that we do what we can do. We have to perform at the level we know we are capable of.

“We can beat anyone, but we can also lose to anyone because it is a difficult league. But if we do what we have to do, we will get stronger and stronger, and at the end of the season we will be at the top.

“Obviously, you respect your rivals. But the main thing is that we have the potential. Play the maximum. Sometimes you will draw or lose, but at the end you’ll be at the top of the table.”

Newcastle (possible, 4-2-3-1): Sels; Yedlin, Lascelles, Mbemba, Dummett; Shelvey, Colback; Ritchie, Perez, Gouffran; Mitrovic.