Newcastle midfielder Cheick Tiote has labelled his side’s clash against QPR next weekend as a must-win.
The Tyneside club picked up a point at West Ham on Saturday, but remain deep in the relegation scrap, just three points ahead of 18th-placed Wigan, who have a game in hand.
Alan Pardew’s side also faced several reports of dressing room unrest prior to the game after their 6-0 home drubbing at the hands of Liverpool, but the Ivorian believes the display at Upton park proved the togetherness in the club’s dressing room.
“We need to win,” he said. “Before the (West Ham) game we knew we had to win or take one point, but we could not lose. We have one point and that’s important.
“Everyone was together and we played as a team. We were more compact and that’s important. On Sunday we’ve got to do the same and hopefully we can take the three points.”
Fabrico Coloccini returned to the XI for the West Ham game, playing in his first game since February 24, and Tiote believes the Argentine’s presence was vital as Newcastle secured their first clean sheet in five outings.
“I think it helped us because we know Coloccini’s a good player with a lot of experience,” he added.
“He played well today and I’m happy to see him back because we’re going to need him for the next two games. I think we deserved more than the one point because, when you see the game, I felt we wanted it more than West Ham.
“We missed some chances and we didn’t score the goal we needed but we need to take the positives and think about the next game.”
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