Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul is proud of their defensive record.

Newcastle boast the meanest defence in the Barclays Premier League and keeper Krul says it is no accident.

"We have worked on being a tight defensive unit," he said, "we are solid and we have been scoring goals at the other end.

"Everyone knows what to do at the back. Everyone knows the situation and what they are doing and where they are supposed to be. If the two centre-backs go up, then the two full-backs don't. We are a unit. With Yohan and Cheick in front of them it's been difficult for teams to break through.

"We work with the manager twice a week. He shows us our defensive reports following games and a clean sheet is the most important thing.

"Last year we had a few away games but we weren't sure whether we could win them. Now we have the ability to win them. I think we have shown that. We played Villa off the park but today was a good game."