IF there has been one message to come out of the Newcastle United dressing room more than most during the last week, that information has been for Rafa Benitez and his players to try to not even think about any takeover talk.

Whether it has been Benitez’s own stance in press conferences, or the post-match interviews conducted by members of his squad, the attempts to sell the club are being left to the Magpies’ owner Mike Ashley.

And, regardless of how they want to approach things, performances and Ashley’s attempts to sell are intrinsically linked. Championship football will not be as attractive to would-be buyers than another campaign in the Premier League.

Whether it is Peter Kenyon, who is putting together a consortium hoping to pay the £300m asking price, or another of the three groups believed to have expressed an interest, they all need Newcastle to keep pushing to stay in the top tier of the English game.

The last thing those in Benitez’s squad want is for Newcastle to drop down to the Championship for the third time inside ten years.

“The takeover is not our problem,” said winger Christian Atsu. “Our focus is ourselves, performances. We are here to play every game no matter what else is going on.

“That is our focus. We showed that at Everton on Wednesday. We showed that matters outside the game don’t affect us.

“We are mentally strong as a group and we are focused on winning games. We know this ourselves, we don’t need anyone telling us, we know we have to play football and let our feet do the talking to get results.”

Atsu knows full well the attention Ashley’s selling tactics are getting nationwide, even internationally. The Premier League is big business, and the fans would love to see the sportswear tycoon move on.

But what Newcastle’s players need to do is ensure they remain among the top table, and the signs have been decent in recent weeks that they can achieve their goals this season.

The spirit and desire the group showed at Everton in midweek to leave with a point was heartening after seeing a three-match winning run end at home to West Ham a week ago.

That is why Atsu accepts Newcastle need to make amends for what happened against the Hammers, when Manuel Pellegrini’s side left Tyneside with a 3-0 win and they could have more.

“We have improved for sure,” said Atsu, who started at Goodison Park but was a second half substitute against West Ham. “With these players we knew we would improve.

“The Everton result brought a lot of positives. We created better chances in the second half and defended really well.

“We are improving and we have to focus on each and every game.

“After the way we approached the West Ham game, the Everton one was more positive.

“We are confident the way we attack and defend. We had chances at Everton so we have plenty positives. We could have won and now we focus on Wolves and hopefully we do better than we did against West Ham.

“We struggled last weekend. We are now waiting for Wolves.

“They are a very good team.

“We rate them. They want to keep the ball and attack, so it will be difficult but we will have the fans behind us. I am positive we can do everything.”

Very few would have envisaged that Newcastle could have left Everton with a point after the reversal to West Ham, particularly at a time when under Marco Silva the Toffees are being lauded as the best that Goodison has seen for years.

There is no doubting Newcastle had to defend strongly at times and concede plenty of possession, but Benitez’s defensive masterplan to counter-attack worked and the former Liverpool boss could even have celebrated a win on Merseyside.

Atsu had two late chances when the scoreline was level to claim victory; the first of those brought a fantastic save from goalkeeper Jordan Pickford and the second saw the Ghana international fail to connect properly when he wriggled free in the area.

“Everton were very good on the ball, created a lot of chances, but we are very happy to get the point,” said Atsu.

“I was mentally prepared to play in these games, I am always trying to do something for the team. I had the chances to score, it was unfortunate not to score. I am still very happy I contributed in the performance.”

Atsu has been in and out of the team, often playing second fiddle to Matt Ritchie, who is back from suspension tomorrow, and Brazilian Kenedy, who had a toe injury in midweek.

Atsu, who would be unlucky to lose his spot, said: “It is hard when you are on the bench, you have to work extra hard to be fit when you are called on.

“I had to do something to stay in the team and I feel like I have done what I can.”