Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve Harper admits he fears they're facing a relegation battle after Saturday's 5-1 humiliation by Manchester United.

Harper, whose 100th appearance for the club as a half-time substitute for the injured Shay Given was ruined by a merciless away side, admitted the tide has to turn next weekend if Newcastle's plight is not to deepen further.

He said: "It is massive. We have had a tough run of fixtures, but we haven't performed either.

"We have had good spells in patches, but in this league, you have to do it for 90 minutes and until we can do that, we are going to struggle.

"We have got a big week in front of us and in that time, we really need to stick together and build towards Saturday and try to get a positive result.

"We have got some big games coming up. We have got to put this one behind us. It is gone.

"It is a demoralising defeat, but come Monday morning, we are back on the training field and we build up for what is a massive game next week.

"You do need a bit of luck when you are on a run like this, but you need to help yourselves as well and we are not doing that at the minute."