OPINION
Newcastle United secured their first win of the Premier League season at the 11th time of asking at the weekend as Ayoze Perez’s glancing header secured a 1-0 victory over Watford.
Aside from the three points there were plenty of positives for manager Rafa Benitez to take from the Magpies’ performance, including standout displays from fringe stars Fabian Schar and Ki Sung-yueng.
The Magpies now have one more Premier League match against Bournemouth next weekend before the international break, and Benitez will be keen to keep the momentum going with another win.
The Spaniard is however dealing with a lot of behind-the-scenes issues at Newcastle, including players who are not pulling their weight within the squad.
As reported by the Chronicle, winger Jacob Murphy has been told to battle for his place at the club after failing to impress Benitez in training.
The boss is quoted as saying: “I told the players on the bench to put me under more pressure. I want them to push me harder.”
The former Norwich winger did not even make the squad for their win against Watford, and it says a lot that Christian Atsu even managed to make the bench over him.
Murphy has seriously disappointed since his big-money £12million move from the Canaries last summer, with the young talent scoring just once in 35 appearances for the club so far.
The speed machine arrived with loads of hype behind him but has totally failed to live up to expectations on the pitch, and it looks like he is doing the same off the pitch as well.
Murphy has bags of talent, that is clear to see from his days at Norwich, but he simply needs to start working harder behind the scenes at Newcastle.
The state that Newcastle are in at the moment is a huge opportunity for him to establish himself as a regular, but he is not even making the bench at the moment and that is worrying.
Murphy must now pull his finger out and perform in training to get back into the side before the end of the season, or it would not be a surprise to see Benitez offload him in the summer.
Two seasons is long enough for a player to settle and establish themselves as a regular, especially after a £12million outlay, and Murphy is now not just fighting for his place, but fighting for his Newcastle career.