The Sky Bet Championship's leading scorer Dwight Gayle added two more goals to his tally in the 2-0 victory at Leeds United on Sunday, which put the Magpies five points clear of Brighton & Hove Albion at the top of the table.

Fellow frontman Aleksandar Mitrovic has also been in a rich vein of form over the past month, bagging braces in the EFL Cup and league wins over Preston North End.

And with Republic of Ireland international Daryl Murphy nearing a first team return having scored for the Under-23s against West Bromwich Albion on Monday, Benitez says he's in in a privileged yet pressured position with so much firepower at his disposal ahead of Saturday's visit of Blackburn Rovers (3pm kick-off).

"When you have a striker and he's scoring goals, that's what you're looking for. I have nice competition," he said.

"I was talking with Murphy today - he's doing really well after his injury. When you have a striker like Murphy doing so well in the training sessions, and you see Mitrovic and you see Gayle, that is your problem. You have competition in this position, and that is good because they have to keep pushing.

"If Gayle scores more goals, Mitrovic scores more goals and Murphy comes in and can score goals, it has to be good for the team.

"It's always difficult because they train well, and they put me under pressure during the training sessions. We are lucky because we have very good players in this position."

He added: "We have to manage and make sure that we can bring the best from everyone. The good thing is that they know, they realise, that if they go on the pitch, they have to do well because their teammate is pushing, so that's good for us.

"I think that we are doing a lot of good things, and you have to give credit to our players because they are doing really well. They are training well, they compete really well and that's a nice problem for me."

A win for United at St. James' Park on Saturday would see Benitez's men set a new club record of ten consecutive victories in all competitions.

But the Spaniard insisted his sole focus is on collecting the points that would maintain the gap separating them from Chris Hughton's Seagulls in second place.

"We are doing well, that is true, but before any game, normally I send the same message - to concentrate on the game and get three points," Benitez said.

"Before this game, it's even more important. I was talking with the players about this - no complacency, be sure that we are really focused because if we win, we can get three points and a record.

"To get three points is the priority for me. The other things will come, but to get three points is crucial for us."

The Newcastle boss also confirmed that midfielder Jack Colback wouldn't be involved for the visit of Owen Coyle's side, while defender Grant Hanley is also likely to miss out on facing his old club for the first time.

"Colback has a problem with his eye, so he will not be available, and Hanley has a little problem with his shin, but the rest of the team are fine," said Benitez.

"(Massadio) Haidara, (Achraf) Lazaar and Murphy were playing for the Under-23s the other day, so everybody is fine."