Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has urged senior players at the club who are currently missing out on game time to remain patient.
The Magpies have won four matches in a row to shoot up to sixth place on the Premier League table and have done so without the likes of Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse in the starting line-up.
Pardew admits these players have already been in to enquire about their current situation but he admits it is tough to tinker with a winning formation.
"I have had a few knocks on my door this morning from players who want to play," he told the Shields Gazette.
"Steven Taylor, Hatem Ben Arfa, Papiss Cisse, Vurnon Anita, Jonas Gutierrez are all not playing at the moment, and they are desperate to play.
"We have got - which we didn't have last year - real competition for places, and that does bode well. I have empathy for them, but at the minute, they have got to wait for their chance.
"I wouldn't call them fringe players by any stretch of the imagination. I would class them as first-team players who are actually out of the team at the minute.
"They have an opportunity and, like [Mike] Williamson has proved, if you get an opportunity, then I will show faith and keep picking the player. Everybody has got an opportunity, an equal opportunity."
