Source: SKY_Sports
Owen targets Prem survival
Newcastle captain Michael Owen knows the under-threat Magpies need to start picking up points and fast - starting at Hull City on Saturday.[LNB] The England striker is set to return from injury against the Tigers and is desperate to play his part in helping his side avoid the drop.[LNB]The Magpies are now hovering above the drop zone only on goal difference and Owen knows that now is the time to stand up and be counted.[LNB]The 29-year-old told the Journal: "We have always been flitting around three or four places off the bottom. [LNB]"But it's only since we lost to Manchester United and results went against us that we have found ourselves in real trouble.[LNB]"There is a determination to put it right. I don't feel we are in the last-chance saloon yet, but it is getting damn important we start picking up points and fast.[LNB]Responsible"We have to realise we are responsible for getting results above anything else.[LNB]"That responsibility filters through to the players - from the fans, the staff at the club. Everyone's backs are against the wall now, and nobody wants to see Newcastle United not playing in the Premier League next season."[LNB]Owen himself is out of contract at the end of the season and there has been much speculation linking him with a move away from Tyneside.[LNB]This has been just one of the many distractions at the club during this chaotic season but Owen feels events off the pitch can not be used as an excuse by the players.[LNB]Fractious seasonHe said: "I definitely think it has been a fractious season, even by Newcastle's standards.[LNB]"Regardless of that, it's just an easy excuse for players to make if they say this has happened off the pitch, and that has happened, so that is why results haven't been good.[LNB]"I don't care what has happened to the chairman, the tea lady or whoever; when you are out on the pitch, you are focused on trying to win, and that's it.[LNB]"Anyone who uses what has happened to the club this season at boardroom level, it's just an excuse in my eyes.[LNB]"Thankfully, nobody here has been using that as an excuse."[LNB]
