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Rafa Benitez believes Newcastle United are on course for survival because every single member of the Magpies squad has faith in their methods - and each other.

The Magpies secured an uplifting 3-0 victory over relegation rivals Southampton at St James’ Park on Saturday, thanks to a brace from Kenedy and a goal from Matt Ritchie.

That result lifted Newcastle to 13th place in the table, five points clear of the drop zone, and plunged the Saints into even deeper trouble.

Given that Newcastle now face a three-week gap without a Premier League fixture - the Magpies will travel to Spain on Thursday, before playing a friendly against an as-of-yet-unspecified side on Sunday - Benitez accepts this was a timely victory.

“I don’t know if I said that, but it was an important game to win,” Benitez replied when asked if he thought Southampton represented a “must-win game” for Newcastle.

“When I do my maths, I don’t waste too much time thinking this one is a must win. This was a fantastic game to win but the main thing is, if you are not strong enough to win, that you are strong enough to draw.

(Image: Getty Images Europe)

“These games are ones you cannot lose. If you draw you both get a point but they remain where they are as well.

“To win, is great; we were strong enough to control the game, now it is to the next game and we have to be strong for that one as well.

“The one thing we have is confidence in our team. We work really hard and we are doing well.”

While Benitez and Newcastle are gathering momentum, Southampton and Mauricio Pellegrino continue to slide down the table - with the Saints manager even accusing his players of “giving up” on Saturday.

Pellegrino was a both a player and a coach under Benitez, and the Spaniard hopes his former apprentice can guide Southampton to safety during the final eight games.

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“You have to win games and to lose a game in the manner they did here, he knows he will be under even more pressure,” Benitez said of Pellegrino.

“But he is professional and he has a lot of experience. But this league is very complicated.

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“You can play one of the top six and then you have two or three of them and you can lose your confidence very quickly.

“My point has always been, the way to stay up is to remain calm until the end. You can lose against Liverpool and people say: ‘Oh, you are no good.’ But you always have the next game.

“We are confident in the system we play and in each other. The team has to be consistent and strong enough to approach every game thinking we can win three points, that is it, not worrying about the last result all the time.”