Ghana winger Christian Atsu says his Newcastle United team must recover quickly from their home defeat to Fulham if they want to secure qualification to the English Premier League.
The Magpies were beaten 3-1 at St James’ Park by Fulham on Saturday, in a match which the Cottagers thoroughly deserved to win.
It was Newcastle’s fifth home defeat of the campaign and their form on Tyneside remains a concern.
However, Rafa Benitez’s men have been impressive on the road all term and the league leaders have collected a division-high 42 points on their travels.
Next up for Newcastle is a trip to St Andrew’s to take on Birmingham City, and Ghana international Atsu believes United must bounce back from the Fulham defeat by winning in the Second City.
“It’s up to us to make things right,” the 25-year-old winger, who is on a season-long loan deal from Chelsea, explained.
“We’re still top of the league and it’s time to stick together; we need the fans, we need everyone.
“We still have nine games left in the league.
“A lot of teams will lose concentration, we have to make sure we don’t lose concentration.
“It’s about being together everyone the fans and the players.
“We have to keep this in perspective - the position we find ourselves in, we’re still ahead of the others and we have to keep working hard.”