Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Pavel Srnicek says it's time for home truths to be told inside the locker room.
Srnicek wrote in the Evening Chronicle: "We always hear players saying that a change of results is just round the corner and that there is no need to panic at not having won in the league yet this season. I look at the table and I am panicking a bit.
"If I was in the dressing room, I would be starting to say those things to my team-mates now. It is no use lying to yourself when you are in trouble - you have to confront it. I'd be saying to my fellow players: 'Come on, we cannot keep talking about improving performances. We have got ourselves into a position where we need to win now. There are no excuses.'
"We are now in the second international break and we are a couple of months away from Christmas. This is an important time and if you haven't got the points yet, you're playing catch-up from here."
