Steve Harper's warning to fellow Magpies

Oct 13 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

And, while United’s players arguably have more individual quality than any of their rivals in this division, it is ability aligned with the basic principles of collective discipline and hardwork which will get them back into the top flight.

The long-serving Newcastle kepper added: “When we lost to Blackpool, they

deserved the win. They worked harder than us over the course of the 90 minutes and fair play to them.

“That has been the only defeat so far, but we have to constantly remind ourselves that teams are going to make it extremely hard for us in every single match.

“In our last two home games we’ve dropped four points and that is frustrating.

“QPR and Bristol City have both come to St James’s Park and they have set themselves up to be difficult to break down and we are going to have to work out how to cope with that – because everyone will do it.”

Like every United player, Harper has been thrilled with the support the team has received from fans home and away this season.

But he also urged the club’s followers to maintain that level of support at all times, even if things on the pitch take a turn for the worse.

He explained: “If we had won those two games we would have had a big lead at the top of the table, but we haven’t managed to do it so the rest of the league are on our shoulders.

“If you look at it, West Brom, Middlesbrough and Cardiff have all lost a few games this season. We have to remember that could be us at some stage and it’s important we all stick together and get through it.

“When I say stick together I mean the players, the staff and the fans.

“We’ve got two away games in the space of four or five days against Forest and then Scunthorpe and when that happens, we’ve got to try and make sure we take four or six points from them.

“That’s the big challenge in this division, the speed with which the games come round.”