DEMBA Ba believes Newcastle have the strength of character to withstand their first league defeat this season.

Before Manchester City’s 3-1 home win on Saturday, no team had beaten the Magpies over 90 minutes this term.

With Manchester United away next, followed by Chelsea at home, Newcastle cannot afford to wallow in their misfortune. Ba (pictured right), though, is confident they will not.

“We have some very strong characters in the dressing room and I am sure this result will not affect us,” he insisted. “We are not going to struggle mentally just because of one defeat.

“We played well. We might not have had much of the ball in the first half, but I thought we defended really well. And in the second half we played higher and were able to press them more.

“If we play like this next weekend, but just take the chances that come our way, I definitely think we can get something from Man United. What we showed against City, we just have to make sure we show it again next week. If we do that, but bring a little something more in front of goal, I am pretty sure we will be okay.

“We should also have some of the other players who were injured and that can only help to make us even more competitive.

“(Saturday) was our biggest challenge of the season, and even though we didn’t win, I still think we played well. With a little bit more luck, we could definitely have got something from the game. But the game is gone now and we have to look forward to the next one.”

With Leon Best injured, Ba was starting for the first time alongside Hatem Ben Arfa, and the Frenchman created a good first-half opportunity for Ba, and struck the post with half-an-hour remaining.

“I enjoyed playing with Hatem,” said Ba. “He is very talented but he is also a very clever player. He gave me the ball for my first chance, and I think me and him were probably the only people in the stadium expecting it. I feel like there is a good understanding there already.”