Source: SKY_Sports
Hughton - No points target
Chris Hughton has told his Newcastle players to focus on winning as many points as possible and not worry about their relegation rivals.[LNB] The Magpies were held to a 1-1 draw by Hull City on Saturday in a game that was billed as a 'must-win' for the North East club.[LNB]They remain outside the drop zone on goal difference only and there is little to separate any of the sides in the lower echelons of the table.[LNB]Newcastle have collected 29 points so far this term and Hughton is reluctant to set a precise target for their final tally, although he feels that 40 points may not be enough to stay up.[LNB]"I think another 15 points will definitely be enough, but what we haven't got is numbers in our minds," Hughton told The Journal.[LNB]"We've had a look at each game. We went into the Hull game hoping to get three points and we have to hope results go for us. All we can do is win as many games as we can and not worry about anyone else.[LNB]"We've got a draw against Hull which we are unhappy about. People felt we had to get a win, but we still went up one place in the table and that's how the league is.[LNB]"The way we've got to look at it is there are nine games left and a lot of points to be won."[LNB]ChallengeNewcastle face Arsenal and Chelsea in their next two home games but Hughton was encouraged by the performance of his men in the recent 2-1 defeat to Manchester United.[LNB]He said: "Arsenal are a quality side, as are Man Utd who came to us a couple of weeks ago.[LNB]"We're very aware of their qualities and what our level of performance has to be like if we want to get something out of game.[LNB]"Certainly there are some games which are more winnable than the next two games - but that's the challenge to this group of players.[LNB]"We're going to have to perform very well to get positive results against Arsenal and Chelsea, but it can be done, the performance against Manchester United shows what we are capable of."[LNB]
