Why Newcastle's negative football could cause the Toon Army to turn on Rafael Benitez

Former Premier League striker Tony Cottee fears Newcastle’s negative approach to games will see fans turn on Rafael Benitez.

The Toon Army are winless in the league and sit joint bottom after seven games of the season, alongside hapless Huddersfield and Cardiff.

While the ire of the fans has once again been directed at Mike Ashley and the board at St James’ Park, the style of football Benitez is imposing on the side worries Cottee.

READ MORE: Salah critics ‘will eat their words’ – Klopp

READ MORE: ‘You want me dead?’ Pogba declines interviews as Mourinho rift continues

READ MORE: Gossip: Misery at United, Batshuayi on Chelsea future

Leicester City picked up three points on Tyneside at the weekend with a comfortable 2-0 victory, which saw fans boo at the final whistle, and Cottee says Benitez is setting sides out not to lose, rather than to win.

He feels that a more positive approach would galvanise the 50,000 strong home crowd and inspire the players to better performances.

“Pretty much everything is wrong at the minute,” Cottee told Yahoo Sport presents: The Football Show.

“There are obviously off field issues and the fans don’t like the owner but that’s been the same for ten years.

“The manager is under pressure. I get a bit frustrated for the fans because I think St James’ Park is a wonderful stadium and 52,000 people turn up every other Saturday to watch their team.

“But he puts out such a defensive team with tactics saying let’s not win the game, let’s try not to lose. They’ve got some top players in Shelvey, Matt Ritchie and Rondon could do better. Good players, but they are so disorganised, all over the place and it’s no surprise they lost to Leicester.

“If Newcastle are not careful they will be in relegation trouble and they’ve already been down a couple of times the last 15 years, they have to be careful.”

He added: “I think the fans will eventually turn on Rafa. There is a lot of love for him, we know that, and he has earned that love over the past couple of seasons.

“But fans quickly forget because football is about the present and the future, not the past. Rafa has to get his finger out.

“If he doesn’t they’ll get relegated and he won’t be at the club anymore.”