Newcastle United caretaker coach Chris Hughton accepts they risk dropping into the relegation battle as the club's boardroom turmoil continues.

Asked about the need to halt an alarming slide before it gets out of control, he said: "Absolutely, it is very important.

"At the moment we are taking one game at a time. Of course, after the West Ham game, there's the Spurs game at St James' in the Carling Cup.

"But what we want to be doing is putting points on the board, and whatever happens, whatever manager comes in we want to leave him in a good enough position."

He added: "Any thought or question of anything that could happen is something completely out of my control.

"All I can do is do the job I am doing at the moment to the best of my abilities and prepare the team for a tough game.

"The mood has been good. One thing the players realise is these are difficult times, and what they realise also is they can't affect anything that's gone on or will go on outside of the training ground.

"That makes them all the more conscious that they need to keep together as a group.

"They need to make sure the spirits on the training pitch as a group of lads are as good as they can be."