Newcastle boss Rafa Benitez has been talking of the Toons recent slump in form.

"We have to stay united. I use those words all the time and so do our fans. We have to be united if we want to go through this and start winning games.

"With the players we have, the people we have, we stay calm and keep working harder and better. That is the only way.

"I'm not happy with the run we are on at the moment. We are still talking about a long race. We have to go back to the pace that we had before. We don't give up, we carry on.

"These last two games, you have to be disappointed when you are so close, doing things right and have 52,000 fans behind you.

"The main things is to analyse what is going on and find solutions.

"It's very clear that when you are in a bad run, you doubt what you are doing. We change approach but sometimes it isn't enough.

"You have to be sure that you take your chances, get a bit of luck and improve what you haven't been doing well."