RAFAEL BENITEZ was delighted to see the strength of Newcastle United’s character come to the fore as his side overhauled a two-goal deficit to claim a point at West Brom.

The Magpies found themselves two goals behind after Hal Robson-Kanu and Sam Field scored for a Baggies side that are expected to appoint former Newcastle boss Alan Pardew as their new permanent boss before the end of the week.

However, Ciaran Clark headed home Matt Ritchie’s corner to hand Benitez’s side a lifeline, and with the visitors staging a spirited second-half revival, Salomon Rondon turned Ritchie’s free-kick into his own net with seven minutes left.

The comeback arrests a run of four successive defeats, and lifts Newcastle back up to 12th position ahead of this weekend’s daunting trip to champions Chelsea.

“The reaction of the team was really good,” said Benitez. “We saw again that they care, they reacted, they were working very hard, and as soon as we scored the first goal we were back in the game.

“We could have won the game because we were in control, but it was a question of time as to whether we could create some chances. But there was not enough time to get the third goal.

“The result shows a very positive reaction from the players, and also character too. It is very positive, as was the way we played in the last minutes. Still, obviously we can improve, and we have to improve, but still at least you could see character, work-rate, reaction, commitment, and a lot of positives and some good play.”

Benitez was unhappy with the defending that saw Newcastle concede two goals, with Chancel Mbemba failing to pick up Robson-Kanu as he converted Kieran Gibbs’ cross and DeAndre Yedlin losing Field as he slid home Matt Phillips’ centre.

However, he was buoyed by his side’s response to falling two goals behind, as well as their composure when they were pushing for an equaliser in the closing stages of the game.

Last weekend, the Magpies became extremely ragged as Watford claimed a 3-0 win at St James’ Park. Four days on, and they held their shape and system much more effectively, with their counter-attacking play putting West Brom on the back foot in the final 20 minutes.

“I didn’t think we deserved to lose the four games, but that is something you cannot change,” said Benitez. “With this bad run, reacting the way we were reacting and showing the character we did shows something very, very positive for the future.”

Benitez made five changes for last night’s game, dropping Rob Elliot, Javier Manquillo, Jonjo Shelvey, Mo Diame and Dwight Gayle from the side that lost to Watford.

His most crucial switch saw a return to the 4-2-3-1 formation Newcastle were adopting in the first two months of the season, and while his side might have conceded two goals, they were much more solid and compact than they had been against either Manchester United or Watford.

The experiment of playing with two centre-forwards has surely been abandoned for the moment, but Benitez will continue to rotate his players as he looks to get back to winning ways.

“When you play two games in a few days, you need fresh legs,” he said. “For everyone, they need to be sure that they will be part of the team, part of the season, and they need to know they can help the team. Now everybody knows that they can play.”

West Brom have not won a Premier League game since August, so things will almost certainly be tougher when Newcastle head to Stamford Bridge on Saturday.

Nevertheless, with last night’s comeback having bolstered confidence, the Magpies can at least prepare to take on the champions with a spring in their step.

“We obviously know it (taking on Chelsea) will be very difficult, but the reaction of the team means we can be positive in terms of how we approach the game,” said Benitez. “We know that we can do well and it’s just a question of being focused, staying concentrated and not making the mistakes that we did against Manchester United, who are a top side.

“Against them we played really well, but then made a couple of mistakes. Now, it’s a learning process, but hopefully it can help the team.”