• Threat of relegation means no festive fun for players • ‘If something’s wrong, you have to realise,’ says Rafael Benítez

Newcastle United’s players have cancelled their Christmas party for the second year running, and Rafael Benítez is suitably relieved.

Jamaal Lascelles, Newcastle’s captain, had planned a festive celebration in London this weekend but he and his team-mates came to the conclusion that partying is not a good look for a side in peril of relegation.

“I was talking to Jamaal and I told him: ‘If something’s wrong, you have to realise it’,” said Benítez before his team’s trip to Huddersfield on Saturday for a game the Spaniard has dubbed “a cup final”. “This group of players, last year they cancelled the party because they knew it was not the right thing to do and this year has been exactly the same. I think Jamaal has been quite sensible.

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“The squad wanted to do it because it is a tradition for some players, especially in England, but they’ve been quite good about it. I think the fans will appreciate that they’re just focused on football.”

Newcastle are 15th having won only three times all season and are just three points above 18th-placed Huddersfield.

Asked whether the situation could change should they beat David Wagner’s side, Benítez smiled. “Hopefully we’ll not lose, touch wood,” he said. “And if everything goes right for us, still the players will not do anything – or at least not that I know about! They’re quite responsible – and they know every game is really important for us.”

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Indeed, his squad are well aware that the next two fixtures – at Huddersfield and against fellow strugglers Fulham on Tyneside next Saturday – could prove pivotal. “Every match is like a final,” said Benítez, who reported that he had “no news’ on Newcastle’s mooted takeover. “We have to approach every game thinking that one point can make a difference at the end of the season,” he said. “The next two, against sides very close to us, will be massive.

“We need to win against those teams around us at the bottom; it’s like six points if you win. And, if you play well, you can beat them but, against the top teams, you can play well and still lose.”

Benítez added: “The bottom half of the table is where I expected us to be right now and we need to be realistic. We know we have some games we can win and maybe some we cannot.”