FABRICIO Coloccini will not allow Newcastle United’s lofty league position to alter the fact that the Magpies’ main target remains top-flight survival.

Coloccini has been one of United’s best players so far this season and marked his 100th appearance for the club with a breathtaking piece of skill and goal in the 1-1 draw with Tottenham Hotspur last weekend.

But the popular centre-back was not happy with the two draws against Sunderland and Spurs as they were games they should have held on to win. An extra four points would have put United on the cusp of the Europa League places, three points adrift of local rivals Sunderland.

Instead, with Aston Villa and Liverpool starting to recover from their poor starts to the season, the table is becoming increasingly congested and Newcastle could easily slide back into trouble if they do not maintain their recent form.

Coloccini said: “It shows how far we have come this season that we are disappointed to draw these last two games.

“It is frustrating we have dropped four points with injury time goals, but we have to remember we were playing against two teams who are in the top six.

“To have 30 points at this stage is good, but I think we maybe feel we should have more. At the start of the season we would have been happy with this, but we have come a long way.

“We could be even better off in the league, but we are starting to look up the table rather than down. We can look forward with some confidence for the rest of the season.

“We are not safe yet and that is the first target, but we are playing well and we have to keep this going. We have to have a positive mentality.”

Coloccini’s thoughts were echoed by goalkeeper Steve Harper, who insisted he will only breathe easily when United are assured of their place in the Premier League next season. He said: “Nobody’s setting any targets of 34 points, or anything like that.

“It’s an old cliché, but we’re just churning out games, and trying to put points on the board.

“As long as we keep that, the better. It’s been a good start to 2011 – four games unbeaten – and if we can keep that run going through Fulham away and Arsenal at home it’ll put us in good stead.

“We just have to keep churning it out. If there’s a gap appearing, let’s keep it there, and make it bigger. That’s what we have to keep doing. If we can stay up, and stay up comfortably, it’ll be a fantastic achievement.

“The fans want us to finish above Sunderland, but our first priority at the start of the season was to stay up. Once we’ve achieved that, and if we do it with several fixtures to go, we’ll set ourselves another target.”

Former United striker Obafemi Martins is close to securing a return to the Premier League with Birmingham.

The Nigerian is set to join the St Andrew’s club on a six-month loan deal from Russian side Rubin Kazan and is due to fly into the West Midlands for a medical this weekend.

Birmingham have completed one signing, taking centre-half Curtis Davies from city rivals Aston Villa in a £3.5m deal.

Celtic boss Neil Lennon, meanwhile, has ruled out a move for Magpies centre-back Sol Campbell.

Lennon said: “A defender has been a priority for some time and we have had a few knock backs and a few disappointments but we will keep looking.

“There has been no contact with Newcastle (about Sol Campbell).”