A DOWNBEAT Rafael Benitez admits he is no closer to making a much-needed breakthrough in the transfer market, and concedes it is “too soon” for the current Newcastle United team to hold its own in the Premier League.

The Magpies’ miserable start to the season continued this afternoon as Aaron Mooy’s second-half strike condemned them to a 1-0 defeat at the hands of Huddersfield Town, who were promoted via the play-offs in May.

While Huddersfield boast two wins from two, Newcastle have suffered back-to-back defeats and Benitez’s tetchy mood in his post-match press conference reflected his unhappiness at this summer’s failure to make major improvements to his squad.

That situation is unlikely to change in the final ten days of the transfer window, with Mike Ashley adamant he will not be making any personal contributions to Benitez’s transfer funds, and while a lack of quality was glaringly apparent at the John Smith’s Stadium, Newcastle’s failings will not be addressed by an imminent move in the market.

“There is nothing to say about transfers at the moment, there is no news,” said Benitez, who provided an uncharacteristically abrupt answer to whatever question was posed. “I haven’t seen the latest names (linked with Newcastle) - we have to wait. Obviously, we are working behind the scenes trying to do things, but I do not know what our position is at the moment.”

Newcastle’s position in the league table is all-too-familiar, with today’s defeat having followed an opening-weekend reverse to Tottenham.

Mooy scored the only goal of the game five minutes after the interval, and while Matt Ritchie and Joselu both forced decent saves from Huddersfield goalkeeper Jonas Lossl, and Ayoze Perez fired over from a promising position, Newcastle did not really merit a point.

Nine members of their starting line-up played in the Championship last season, and Benitez expects it to take time for them to acclimatise to life in the top-flight.

“I could say we deserved to get something, but my experience in the Premier League is that you have to take your chances because if you make mistakes, you will pay for them,” he said. “It is a learning process for us, and hopefully we can learn quickly. That is how it is at the moment. Maybe it is too soon for us. It will take some time for sure.”

When asked whether he felt the current side was good enough to survive, he said: “Hopefully, yes. Because I am sure we will improve. We will need time, but I am sure we can improve.”

Newcastle’s failings today largely came in attack, with Perez’s miss especially disappointing. The Spaniard was on the edge of the six-yard box as he swivelled to meet Ciaran Clark’s flick-on, but his volley sailed high over the crossbar.

“We started the game controlling things a little bit when they were pressing,” said Benitez. “But it doesn’t matter if you are well organised, pressing and working very hard – you have to score goals. And you cannot concede if you want to get results in the Premier League, or any division, but especially when you are playing in the top division.”

Benitez’s mood was in marked contrast to that of a beaming David Wagner, with the Huddersfield boss having been able to watch his side maintain their 100 per cent start.

Huddersfield were hosting their first top-flight game for 45 years, and while Newcastle left the John Smith’s Stadium with a 3-1 victory during last season’s title success, the tables were well and truly turned five months on.

“If anyone wants to know that in football everything is possible, then they only have to look at our club after what we felt last season,” said Wagner. “We only wanted to be brave in every game and search for our chance, and we are over the moon with six points. I think it was deserved, but we have to invest everything from the first second to the last to get these points.

“I asked for something extraordinary in terms of the energy from the stands, and we got it, and the players paid it back. We have had two great results, but it is only two games. But I said to the players to enjoy it.

“I am delighted with their work, every player involved. It was great to get a clean sheet in the Premier League, and that match winner from Aaron Mooy makes it even better.”