It has been a turbulent few seasons for Newcastle United supporters as continued underachievement on the pitch, friction between the fans and the club, and poor managerial appointments ultimately culminated in their relegation from the Premier League in May.

In previous eras it was almost unthinkable to imagine Newcastle outside the top flight of English football, yet under Mike Ashley's reign this is the second relegation the club has suffered.

However on the last occasion in 2009, they did manage to bounce straight back up, and in Rafa Benitez, they have a manager with more pedigree and experience than most bosses in the Premier League, let alone the Championship.

However, the Spaniard has a major rebuilding job on his hands, and a lot of this will include getting rid of certain players associated with recent disappointments, that could be deemed to be holding the club back.

Benitez will be keen to move on from the players that have been associated with failure at Newcastle United, and subsequently we could see some high profile names depart St James' Park over the coming months.

FLW's Tom Percival identifies FOUR players that Benitez must sell this summer to help Newcastle progress back into the Premier League.....

 

Fabricio Coloccini

The 34-year-old has generally been a loyal servant to the Magpies since his £10m move from Deportivo in 2008, but it is surely time to move on.

Once a very accomplished centre-back, able to read the game exceptionally well, and build attacks from the back, Coloccini has looked a shadow of this player in recent years.

He seems to have lost a yard of pace and is very prone to making costly errors that cost his side points on a regular basis.

A move back to his native Argentina may be the best for all parties in this case, as Bentiez should look to a quicker, more youthful centre-back to deal with the rigours of a 46 game Championship season.

Coloccini is too heavily associated with the failures of Newcastle United, and it is time for a fresh start.

Moussa Sissoko

The French midfielder's recent comments to press the press about his future sum up exactly why Rafa Benitez should look to get rid of this player as quickly as possible.

His public desire to leave the club and join Arsenal, despite being under contract at Newcastle United, highlights his complete lack of commitment to the cause, everything you do not want in a gruelling Championship season.

It reflects a great deal of his performances throughout the last campaign too, where he did nowhere near enough with his undoubted ability to help steer his side away from relegation.

Benitez could probably still recoup quite a bit of money for Sissoko, who is currently representing France at Euro 2016, and should seek to sell as quickly as possible, replacing him with someone who has far more desire to represent the football club and do well in the Championship.

Papiss Cisse

The Senegalese international initially set the Premier League alight following his move from Freiburg in 2011, but has struggled for consistency pretty much ever since then.

Newcastle fans have rarely seen the player that bagged 11 Premier League goals within the first 4 months after joining, and many are going growing tired of his continued opportunities at the club.

With the exciting talents of Ayoze Perez and Aleksandar Mitrovic at the club, Benitez would probably be better off offloading Cisse and bringing in someone on smaller wages with a little more Championship experience to help the other two through more difficult patches of the season.

Georginio Wijnaldum

This may be a more controversial choice, due to the player's undoubted class and ability, but Benitez may seek to move the Dutch international on because he is unconvinced Wijnaldum will suit the more physical style of Championship football.

Wijnaldum still holds real value, with Italian giants Roma reportedly circulating, so unless Benitez is absolutely sure he can offer  a huge amount to the side, it may be wise to move him on and use the funds more wisely on a player who can perform on a more consistent basis.

This is because although Wijanldum was brilliant for his new club in the pre-Christmas stage of the Premier League season, he completely went missing during the important part of the campaign when the Magpies were embroiled in a relegation battle, and this will be a huge concern.

Wijnaldum may not be a player Benitez can rely on for the big occasion and subsequently it may be better for the football club if it a replacement were brought in.