RAFAEL BENITEZ believes there is still a long way to go before he can be compared to former Newcastle United manager Sir Bobby Robson on Tyneside, even if he has won domestic and European honours throughout a glittering career.

Benitez has brought the feel-good factor back to the Magpies after years of frustration in the stands and his promotion targets are on track after watching his team climb to the top of the Championship in midweek.

His work so far has already been hailed by club greats such as Alan Shearer, and former Newcastle midfielder Kieron Dyer, speaking in today’s match-day programme, has suggested the Spaniard can maintain his fantastic relationship with supporters by bringing success back to the St James’ Park.

Dyer said: "I still keep a close eye on events there and I’m very excited about how things are going under Rafa Benitez. For me, he is the first manager since Robson who can really achieve something big at the club. I think they’ll be back in the Premier League next season and I think they’ll go on to surprise a lot of people when they get there.”

During Robson’s five years in charge he led Newcastle into Europe regularly, while Kevin Keegan came close to ending the wait for a trophy after initially lifting them out of the second tier.

Hearing such comments from Dyer brought a smile to Benitez when he discussed this afternoon’s visit of Mick McCarthy’s Ipswich Town, but he is adamant he has a long way to go before he can be likened to Robson at St James’.

“I hear the fans and read when they talk about me and they compare me with Sir Bobby Robson or Kevin Keegan,” said Benitez. “I am really pleased about that. I have my CV but when they put you at the level of people who have been so important to this club and in football, it is always good, always positive.

“You have to be proud of that. But I am still at the beginning. My career is fine because I am old. But in terms of Newcastle, the city and what Sir Bobby meant to the club, that is still far away.”

While Benitez is wary of being hailed too soon for his efforts, he also thinks it is too soon for striker Dwight Gayle to be likened to some of the fantastic No 9s that have graced the Tyneside turf over the years.

Gayle took his tally to 11 goals in midweek against Barnsley with two goals and he tops the division’s scorer charts after his summer move from Crystal Palace.

Benitez said: “When I first saw him there was not an issue that he could fit into our team and our ideas. From the first days in training, you could see that he was clever, good movement and stronger than he seems. We were pleased from day one.

“I think he has the same feeling as I have when you ask me about Robson. It would be the same for him if you ask him about following Alan Shearer. He has to carry on working hard and not thinking about it.

“He knows that better than anyone. If he just carries on, he will improve. He is confident in himself and most importantly, working very hard. He understands what we do so when we make tactical adjustments, he knows what to do. I think he can improve.”

Gayle’s performances have made it harder for Aleksandar Mitrovic to force his way into the Newcastle starting line-up, while the latter’s positive attitude has made it doubly difficult for summer signing Daryl Murphy to figure.

The Republic of Ireland international has still only appeared once for Newcastle since his £3.5m move from Ipswich and he will not be involved against his former club this afternoon either. He has yet to appear in the league.

Benitez said: “When he first signed, we were playing Gayle and he was scoring goals. We had Mitrovic and Murphy played in the EFL Cup. After some time, Murphy felt tightness in his calf and now we do not want to take any risks with him. He is training but he is not playing because Gayle is still scoring goals and we have Mitro waiting.

“The idea for us was to have someone of his experience to give us some advice. At the moment he is unavailable. He is improving but it is not something we can take risks with now.

“He is not someone we had watched for a long time but when we were looking for strikers with experience in this competition, we had to pick one from two or three and he was one of the options and he wanted to come here. And we liked him.

“We knew he was not to be a starter but we thought he could do well because he is clever, has good movement for a target-man and quite mobile. We saw that in the Cup. He was perfect for what we were expecting in the Championship.”