Newcastle United skipper Fabricio Coloccini is adamant the Magpies will not suffer a repeat of their 2008/09 Premier League campaign, which saw them relegated to the Championship.

Newcastle currently sit in last place in England's top flight, without a single win from their opening eight fixtures.

However, Coloccini is confident the Tyneside club have what it takes to avoid the drop under Steve McClaren, saying the club 'has to be in the Premier League'.

"No, [this season is] completely different [to 2008/09]," Coloccini told the Daily Mirror.

"We have quality in our squad. We need more experience, and the new players need time to settle in. But the mood is different.

"In that season we started better, then had bad times in the middle of the season. Four managers. This time we have enough time to turn this around. We'll finish strongly.

"To go down was very, very hard. But it helped the club to start again. We rebuilt everything.

"But this time we can't afford to go down. This club has to be in the Premier League."