Rafa Benitez has identified the three rarely-seen squad players he believes can play a key role in Newcastle United’s hectic festive fixture schedule.
The Magpies travel to face Liverpool at Anfield on Boxing day before visiting Watford three days later and hosting Manchester United on January 2nd.
The Spanish manager has admitted that his squad is stretched thinly and has suggested that Jacob Murphy, Yoshinori Muto, and Sean Longstaff could all play vital roles as he looks to rotate his starting 11.
As quoted in the Chronicle, he said: “It’s important to have the squad available, it’s important to have everybody concentrated and focused because maybe some will not play this game, but they may be needed for the next one.
“I have to be sure that everybody is ready because that is the key during these busy periods.”
Referring to Muto and Murphy, he said: “They are training well, so they will have a chance because you never know when you will have knocks after each game and you play another game in three days.
“You don’t have time to recover, so everybody has to be ready because we may need them.”
Speaking about Longstaff’s chances of making a Premier League debut, he said: “I think he will have more chances obviously because still Jonjo is injured, even if he will be fine in a few days.
“We don’t have too many options in midfield, so I told Sean Longstaff this week that he is doing well, I am happy with him, and he has to stay, he has to keep working hard.
“After we will see what happens in January, but I have a lot of confidence in him.”
OPINION
The Christmas period is going to hit every team hard, but few will feel the strain quite as much as Newcastle. With a squad that already looks thin on the ground the last thing the Magpies could do with right now is a hectic run of matches that is going to push their fitness to breaking point. Whereas many teams will be able to call on a host of reserves to plug the gaps left by fatigue, Newcastle are already close to the bare bones, and that will worry Rafa Benitez. Muto and Murphy have featured sporadically and have decent enough experience, but for Sean Longstaff it will be a case of throwing him in at the deep end and seeing if he copes. The Toon Army clearly think a lot of the young man, and sometimes situations like this can be a blessing in disguise. Out of a stressful Christmas, Newcastle might just find a new hero.