Newcastle United Football Club News

• Nickname:Magpies
• Founded:1881
• Manager:Alan Pardew

• Ground:St James' Park
• Capacity:52,193

Hughton calls for Magpies fight

05 Mar 2009 - 09:11:59

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Newcastle United's first-team coach Chris Hughton is convinced that the Magpies will preserve their Premier League status this season.

Wednesday's 2-1 home defeat to Manchester United left Newcastle just one point above the drop-zone with ten games of the season remaining but there were reasons for optimism in the game against the league leaders.

Peter Lovenkrands had given the hosts the lead and Oba Martins had a great chance to make it 2-0 before Sir Alex Ferguson's side hit back to claim all three points.

Hughton is aware that the team has a tough run of fixtures, but insists: "It's vital that we put on that type of performance right through to the end of the season.

"I was delighted with the performance. In the form that Manchester United are in, to be able in a lot of periods of the game to take the game to them, take the lead and go very close to getting a second speaks volumes for this group of players.

"We need to take that type of form and that type of quality into our next games to give us a good chance in what will be a very hard end to the season.

"I'm sure most people will have felt that once they got back on level terms it was only a matter of time before they got the second, and arguably a third.

"But we got ourselves straight back into the game and caused them a lot of problems, and unfortunately gave away a poor goal."