While there have been encouraging signs from some of the recent Magpies performances, only Tottenham seperate Newcastle from being rock-bottom of the Premier League, and it’s difficult to see Spurs occupying such a lowly position for the remainder of the season. Therefore, United need to start pulling their socks up, or become embroiled in a relegation dogfight for the second season running, something that several people will insist that ‘the fans don’t deserve’.
Yes, Newcastle may have come from 2-0 down to draw with Everton, while also holding Manchester City to the same scoreline, but they only have six points from their first nine matches. Therefore, Tuesday’s match against West Brom is pretty important, especially as the Baggies are one of the teams that might reasonably be expected to scrap for survival this term. Setanta reports that Nicky Butt has described the game as ‘must-win’ and has admitted that the team are in another relegation battle.
“Yes, we are down there. We are part of that battle at the minute,” admitted Butt.
“It is a rollercoaster ride, however, as it is every year here. We need to get some consistency and start playing as we should be playing.
“Tuesday is a must win game now. The longer you are in there, the more desperate you get.”
And what happens if Newcastle fail to win then? West Brom aren’t exactly the whipping boys of the division and have already landed a win in the north-east this season, winning 1-0 at Middlesbrough. Are members of the Toon Army confident that the Magpies can work their way out of trouble, or does the ownership situation need to be resolved first?
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