Missed Chances Leave Newcastle On The Brink

Rafael Benitez was left disappointed with Newcastle's finishing after a goalless draw against Aston Villa on Saturday left the club on the brink of relegation.

Jack Colback and Aleksandar Mitrovic each missed inviting second-half chances to break the deadlock at Villa Park.

And the draw, combined with Sunderland's victory over Chelsea, means Newcastle will be relegated if Sam Allardyce's side beat Everton at the Stadium of Light - live on Sky -on Wednesday.

"The first half, we were a little bit anxious and you could see we were not comfortable in possession," Benitez said.

"It was much better in the second half and we had some good chances, but at this level you have to take your chances. We didn't do that.

"It is disappointing, not just because we couldn't win, but because Sunderland won too so now we have to wait.

"The only thing we can do is to prepare for our match and wait for their score, and after, try to win our game."

"I said to the players, 'Now it depends on them [Sunderland], so we must work during the week to prepare for us.'"

Newcastle sit on 34 points, one behind Sunderland, who have a game in hand. A win in that match over Everton gives Sunderland an unassailable four-point lead over their north-east rivals with one game to play.

But Benitez hopes Newcastle will still have a chance of survival when they face Tottenham at White Hart Lane on the final day of the season.

"You cannot do anything about that [Wednesday]," Benitez added. "Today we could and we tried but we were not doing as well as we were expecting. It got better but it wasn't enough.

"When you cannot change things, you must analyse what you have done, wait, and be sure if you go to the next game with a chance, you win."