Glenn Roeder has refused to consider Newcastle could find themselves dragged into a Premiership relegation battle after the club's top-flight malaise continued to spread during a depressing weekend at St James's Park.
The Magpies were beaten 1-0 by Manchester City on Saturday but, although a side without a goal in more than six hours of League action are not yet clear of danger, their manager is adamant he is not looking over his shoulder.
Roeder was angered after Stuart Pearce suggested that United could yet find themselves in a fight to survive during the remaining six weeks of the season. But, although defeat at Bramall Lane this weekend would leave his team just three points above Sheffield United, Newcastle's optimistic manager will not entertain talk of imminent struggle.
"There are plenty of teams below us as well and they all have less points than us," said Roeder, who believes the seven-point cushion between United and the top-flight drop-zone should ensure his side's exclusion from the relegation reckoning. "You should be asking them whether they are looking over their shoulders.
"It hasn't crossed my mind. The only thing that has crossed my mind is the next game, trying to take the three points and moving up the table. We need to gather ourselves up again on Monday, work hard and make sure we're in the right frame of mind and mental condition to go to Sheffield United next weekend."
Although a seven-point advantage with seven matches remaining should be enough to ensure that Newcastle do not become involved in a survival scrap, Roeder's men are not yet safe. One more win would see United reach 40 points, but the Magpies have taken just one from the last available 12 and, in their last four games, have lost to three teams below them in the table.
With West Ham and Charlton having both won their last two fixtures, the Premiership relegation battle is not the foregone conclusion it has long appeared. Although 11th in the standings, Newcastle are amongt those in danger of being dragged back down.
Roeder does not see it as such and believes the situation is not as bad as it appears. He said: "There's a fine dividing line between winning and losing, very fine. Four games ago, people were saying the football we played against Alkmaar was the best seen at St James's Park for several years.
"Then we went to Holland and didn't perform well and the two Premiership performances since have been patchy. It's never easy to put your finger on the reasons why."
Whatever the reasons, Roeder must identify and address them immediately. Otherwise a team who looked to have nothing left to play for this season could find themselves facing a major challenge.
Attacking improvements are vital and, with Michael Owen not certain to feature this season, the burden remains with Obafemi Martins. The striker has looked drained of confidence in recent weeks and did not look like ending the club's goal drought at the weekend.
"It's possible that he has lost a bit of sparkle," said Roeder. "He's a young player and we rely on him heavily. The experience will do him good in the long term and he will come through this experience of not scoring for a few games. But he needs more help from other players in the team, they must score goals as well."
Roeder is adamant his side's recent struggles cannot be attributed to a hangover that still lingers following last month's Uefa Cup capitulation in Holland.
"I could say `Yes, that's an excuse' and I could make excuses about this and that. But there's no hangover. The players have to be bigger than that, using the Alkmaar game as a crutch to lean on. I wouldn't accept players saying that because you wouldn't hear me saying it," he said.
Although he could understand the frustration of Newcastle supporters, Roeder suggested the fans had not helped his team's efforts. And he has told those who demanded James Milner's introduction that he cannot be influenced when it comes to team affairs.
"Normally the fans are helpful here, but they quickly got frustrated and that got to the players," he added. "In the end it started to show in our play. They (the fans) don't pick the team and never will do. If fans voice their opinions about a particular player, it is usually because they are frustrated. But I will never make a substitution on the back of what the fans want."
