Paid £4.5million per year, the 13th-best salary in European football at the start of last season, Newcastle have a right to expect far more from Rafa Benitez than the abysmal display produced by the Magpies in the 1-0 defeat to Huddersfield last Sunday – a result that could have a huge impact on the final standings and whether Newcastle finish on the right or the wrong side of the safety line come the end of May.

The old adage goes that a manager can only be as good as his players, something that strikes particular resonance amid a summer in which Newcastle have spent more than £10million on just one player and a modest £38million in total.

At this moment in time, Newcastle’s squad is still a Championship title squad, filled with the kind of players who will likely spend the majority of their careers floating between the top end of the second division and the bottom end of the Premier League. There’s not enough quality for Newcastle to hope for anything more than survival this season.

But if we put those distractions to one side and consider Sunday’s game without the context of the summer transfer window, a manager of Benitez’s trophy-winning pedigree should be able to mastermind a victory over a team of Huddersfield’s similar calibre, or at the very least bring a point back to Tyneside – especially knowing how important that could be in avoiding relegation.

In fact, the Magpies claimed a 3-1 win at The John Smith’s Stadium in March en route to the Championship title.

Of course, Huddersfield have improved since then, but not to the degree that they should so comfortably see off Newcastle in a match they controlled barring a handful of half-chances for substitute Joselu in the closing stages.

For all the criticism of Newcastle’s activity in the transfer market, David Wagner’s starting XI on Sunday included only four players who weren’t at the club last season, two of which – star signing Steve Mounie and midfielder Tom Ince – had limited impact on the match itself. Newcastle, meanwhile, started with two new players – Javier Manquillo and Mikel Merino – and brought on a third in the form of Joselu. Hardly a drastic difference.

Perhaps Huddersfield’s summer signings have been superior to Newcastle’s, but superior enough to bring two sides that were separated by 13 points and 47 goals in the Championship last season on level terms?

Even if that was the case, the Terriers were far ahead of the visitors on Sunday in terms of performance; surely that difference can’t be down to Huddersfield debatably boasting a slightly higher quality of player alone, following a summer which has seen them spend just £12million more than Newcastle – albeit bringing in eight players compared to six.

Tactically too, Newcastle showed little ingenuity on Sunday. The ploy of attacking Huddersfield’s left-hand side failed to produce the desired results, Ayoze Perez and Dwight Gayle offered minimal presence up front and Newcastle’s biggest attacking threats never truly found a foothold in the game.

The only decision Benitez made that had any truly positive impact offensively was the introduction of Joselu, who enjoyed a decent debut from the bench.

Make no mistake, it wasn’t a resounding performance from Huddersfield either – a moment of magic from Aaron Mooy proving the difference in a typically nervy encounter between two newly-promoted sides.

But it always felt as if the Terriers were taking the game to the Magpies, as if Wagner was getting that extra few percent out of his players, as if the home outfit were always a few steps ahead of Newcastle’s intentions. That’s not down to summer signings or Mike Ashley’s hesitance to spend – that’s a consequence of confidence, preparation and tactics, factors Benitez must ultimately take responsibility for.

Maybe Newcastle would be more confident and better prepared if more new players had arrived already this summer; there certainly seemed to be a dark cloud lingering over the team before kickoff, whereas Huddersfield were riding the crest of a wave following their 3-0 romping of Crystal Palace on the opening day.

But once again, Benitez has played a part in that. Partly self-created doubts over his future and apparent fall-outs with Ashley have only exacerbated tensions amongst Newcastle fans expecting the club to re-announce itself in the Premier League. Ahead of what will inevitably be a tricky season for Newcastle regardless of who they bring in, Benitez should be working to keep the club united, not further enforcing pre-existing divisions.

This critique will not sit well with most Newcastle fans; Benitez has already gained hero status on Tyneside already and rightly so. But a crucial game between two largely even teams should be where a manager of Benitez’s indisputable quality earns his £4.5million per year. Instead, he was outperformed by Wagner in only the second Premier League fixture of his career.

It’s often been said Benitez has the experience and know-how to add five or ten points to Newcastle’s season; based on Sunday’s game, it will be Wagner who has that effect for Huddersfield instead.

Regardless of the questionable summer spending, the frosty relationship with Mike Ashley and the many other distractions circling Newcastle at the minute, Benitez’s experience and proven quality should have been enough to secure a decent result on Sunday – or at an absolute minimum, produce a more convincing performance.