Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has warned his side they can still be dragged into a relegation battle.
The Magpies, who sealed an immediate return to the Premier League last season, are just four points above the drop zone following last weekend’s 4-0 hammering at Stoke City.
But Pardew believes they can secure their top-flight status for another year in their next four games, which see Toon take on fellow strugglers Wolves, Aston Villa and Blackpool before a trip to Liverpool.
He told the club’s official website: “We can't get ourselves down about the Stoke game because we've got to make sure that the character and the fight in the dressing room comes through now in these last eight games.
“I think we've got enough in there to do that but we've got to make sure we do it quickly.
“We don't want to get ourselves in that dogfight with three or four games left to go.
“So in the next four games we need to get those two results that will see us home.
“We smarted about the Stoke game for a couple of days and look forward to the next home game, hopefully with a full house and get that win that we want.”