HAVING spent the whole season warning his players not to think beyond the next match, Rafael Benitez had a change of approach yesterday when he told them to win the five remaining home games to clinch a Premier League return.

Benitez and his players have maintained a similar stance throughout the campaign, constantly suggesting the Magpies will not look too far ahead in the battle for promotion.

The old phrase ‘taking one game at a time’ has become a familiar theme on Tyneside and even yesterday, ahead of Wigan’s visit to St James’ Park today, there was still reference to it from the manager and his captain, Jamaal Lascelles.

But Benitez, who has also regularly claimed that April’s seven matches would be crucial to the outcome of the automatic promotion places, also admitted Newcastle will be back in the big time if he can improve a stuttering home form by winning the rest of the game.

Five of Newcastle’s remaining eight games are at St James’ Park. After today’s outing against Wigan, there will be visits from Burton, Leeds, Preston and Barnsley. Such a run sounds simple enough for a squad sitting top of the pile, however, Newcastle have lost five games on home turf in the league already.

After suggesting he would like fans to give Newcastle even more support on Tyneside in those games, Benitez said: “The fans have been fantastic all season. But we have five games to go at home. If you win the five games at home then we will be in the Premier League next year.

“If everyone who loves Newcastle United thinks like this – ‘If we win those five games, we are there’. So they have to do everything to support their team.

“You can talk about tactics, scouting or team selection, whatever you want to criticise at the end, but now is the time to stick together and get three points. It doesn’t matter who is playing well or who is not. After the season we can debate and analyse all of that.”

Benitez uttered those comments after he was asked to clarify what he meant about wanting more from home fans, believing they have “the best away fans in the country” on the evidence of this season but “wanted more” at St James’.

It was not that he was trying to annoy the supporters, more seeking an extra edge in the battle to finish ahead of the rest in the promotion race.

He said: “Unity is massive. The fans, the city, everyone needs to be united with five games left at home and three away. We have a league of eight games, come on, let’s win that.”

But why have Newcastle lost more matches at home than they have away? He said: “What we have is 52,000 fans supporting the team, supporting the team, pushing them and expecting them to play well.

“Then you play against teams that are deep, that try to play counter attack, so you have to be very precise with your passing and then everybody can be a little bit nervous if you give it away.

"Everybody is expecting that you have to win, and you are not playing well at the beginning, then the fans can get nervous and the players they can feel that. But for us, for Newcastle United, it has been the same from the beginning of the season.”

He also feels that Newcastle have often been ‘unlucky’ on home soil and is unconcerned ahead of the remaining eight matches as Newcastle look to build on the seven-point advantage they have over third placed Huddersfield.

He is expected to field leading scorer Dwight Gayle in attack today after Daryl Murphy, who has been training, picked up a calf problem on international duty with Ireland. Defender Grant Hanley is in the same boat as Murphy, with Chancel Mbemba hoping to start.

Ciaran Clark, who has spent most of the season at the heart of the defence, will not figure in the next two matches but he should play again this month.

Benitez said: "It's not very bad but still Clark has a little bit of discomfort and he has to carry on progressing.

"With the medial ligament you can have problems when you turn and when you kick the ball with your toes.

"We just need to be sure that he can turn properly, so it's just a question of time. Maybe days, or one week or something like this. I will not give a time but he is improving well and it's just about him having 100 per cent confidence."