Vurnon Anita tells Newcastle United team-mates to keep the faith

Vurnon Anita: Started for Newcastle in Monday's defeat by Fulham at Craven Cottage

Vurnon Anita does not want Newcastle United to begin to panic amid their disappointing season.

Monday night's defeat at Fulham means Alan Pardew's side have lost five of their last six Premier League games to leave them winless on their travels and in a lowly 17th place in the table.

Last week's victory over 10-man Wigan Athletic is now only a blip in a woeful run of form, which has also not been helped by the fact Newcastle are only just beginning to welcome key men back from injury.

But 23-year-old summer signing Anita, who started against Fulham, thinks there is still time for himself and his team-mates to rescue their season, starting with this weekend's game against defending champions Manchester City.

"It is a frustrating run at the moment, because we won last week and we wanted to get our first away win," he said on Tuesday.

"It didn't happen but we must keep on having faith, working hard to get the wins.

"Yesterday, they were sharper than us at set plays but we must work on that, improve ourselves and go onto the next game.

"We have got the fans behind us so it will help us and I hope we can do our best on Saturday."

Don't miss any live and exclusive football coverage this festive season. Click here to visit Sky Sports' Festive Calendar