Saturday 13 April 2019 08:10, UK
Rafa Benitez says Newcastle have "all the potential" but "need to be stronger" following their 1-0 win at Leicester on Friday Night Football.
Ayoze Perez's header gave Newcastle a win that moves them 10 points clear of the relegation places and all-but secured their top-flight status for another season but it remains to be seen whether Benitez will stay at St James' Park beyond the summer.
The former Liverpool manager is out of contract in the summer and suggested that he wanted assurances that investment would be made to make the team more competitive before he signed a new deal.
"I have been trying to win titles everywhere, in different countries, and we have to have a team that can compete," he told Sky Sports.
"You cannot go up against a team thinking 'maybe we can win' or that a draw is a good result, no. We need to be stronger. We have the city, we have all the potential.
"The city, the club, everyone in Newcastle is supporting the team so it's massive. I'm not saying £200m but doing a little bit more, doing the right things, we can compete against the teams that are now maybe between seventh and 12th. But we have to do things right.
"Even if you have a lot of money, you can make mistakes in the transfer window but when you have less money, it's more difficult.
"You can do everything right, your tactics, your team selection, your substitutions but if the other team has one player who can make the difference… that is now the Premier League. If you want to sign one of the forward players from Leicester now, you have to pay £30m.
"So we have to be more competitive in the window, we have to do things in the right way and then you have massive, massive potential in Newcastle."
Asked if the good work he had done on the current budget was harming his chances of being granted more money, Benitez added: "It has been my problem for a while! It was the same at other teams, at Inter Milan we didn't spend anything!
"You have to do your job but obviously you need some help.
"We are thinking about the future but we cannot go too much further. This result could change a lot of things and hopefully will change a lot of things but still, we have to do the right things at the right time.
"We know what we have to do, we have experience in doing that and I think the fans appreciate that."
