Krul supports Newcastle signings

Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul is confident the club’s January signings can kick-start their Premier League campaign after a poor start.

Newcastle goalkeeper Tim Krul is confident the club’s January signings can kick-start their Premier League campaign after a poor start.

In stark contrast to an early return of just three wins from 18 league games, victories over Aston Villa and Chelsea have eased the team’s relegation fears before a Gareth Bale-inspired Tottenham secured a hard-fought win for the north London side on Saturday.

And with Mathieu Debuchy, Moussa Sissoko and Yoan Gouffran all featuring prominently, Krul said the positivity and confidence has returned to the dressing room.

“We have had a really hard time during the first half of the season, but with these new faces coming in, it gives us a massive boost and a lot of confidence,” he told reporters.

Next up for Newcastle is Metalist Kharkiv in the first leg of their Europa League last-32 clash.

With the Ukrainian Premier League currently on a mid-season break, the eastern European outfit have not played a competitive match since December – but Alan Pardew is refusing to take them lightly.

“It’s not ideal for them, but on the other hand, it can work well,” Pardew said.

“They will obviously be very fresh and very motivated for this game, and that can hide a number of sins.

“They have a large influx of South American players, who give the team a real characteristic of technique, and that’s probably what we are going to have to come up against.

“They are very good at keeping the ball and keeping it away from us, and will probably take our tempo out of the game.

“That’s their strength, and on the break, they are fast, so we need to be on our guard. As Juventus proved on Tuesday night at Celtic, you have to be very clever in how you attack.”