NEW BOYS TO TOON RESCUE

Rafa fully focused on battle to stay up

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RAFA BENITEZ wants his Newcastle players to do his talking for him on the pitch for the rest of the season.

The Toon boss clinched deals for Leicester striker Islam Slimani and Sparta Prague keeper Martin Dubravka minutes before the transfer window shut on Wednesday.

The pair join Chelsea winger Kenedy on loan at St James’ Park until the end of the season, with no permanent signings arriving despite talk of Newcastle smashing their transfer record.

It’s an open secret Benitez missed out on his top targets and required all his powers of persuasion to convince owner Mike Ashley recruitment was essential to keep the Magpies up.

But while he won’t say whether he believes Newcastle’s January business was a success or otherwise, he’s now looking forward not backwards with survival rather than player recruitment his only priority.

“I don’t want to create a war,” he said. “I don’t need to do that and I will not analyse that because it would start another polemic.

“My job now is to make sure the players are concentrated on football, playing well and getting the points needed to stay up.

“At the moment, the feeling is we are a little bit better than before.

“Believe me, it is not a question of me being happy or not, what I need is the team to play well.”

Slimani arrived at St James’ Park carrying a thigh injury but has an outside chance of making the bench at Crystal Palace tomorrow.

When he does play, Benitez is confident the Algerian will offer Newcastle a cutting edge they have so far lacked.

No-one has scored more than four goals and while Slimani was not the Toon chief ’s first-choice signing, he expects him to beef up the attack.

“He is a player who knows the league, he’s strong, can run behind defenders and do different things that we don’t have.

“Our strikers, one can run, one can win in the air and one can be strong, but this one can maybe do a bit of everything.

“Hopefully he will score more goals than the others, although they have to score more goals too.”

On Slimani’s fitness, Benitez added: “He came with a little problem in his thigh but he has been training.

“We will see how he is tomorrow.”