Sunday 28 December 2014 09:30, UK
Steven Taylor says Newcastle must stop the “beast" that is Everton striker Romelu Lukaku if they don’t want to lose their fifth straight match.
The pressure is back on manager Alan Pardew after his team lost their fourth game in succession against Manchester United on Boxing Day.
The Toffees suffered a home defeat to Stoke on Boxing Day, but Toon centre-back Taylor is wary of the talented players Everton boss Roberto Martinez has at his disposal - chief among them Lukaku.
"He is an absolute beast - a top player," Taylor said of the big Belgian. "And they have players like (Ross) Barkley, another top player.
"They have good players left, right and centre that will hurt you if you give them time on the ball, so it's up to us to stand up and put our head in the way."
He is an absolute beast - a top player.
Ayoze Perez and Daryl Janmaat had chances to score for the Magpies at Old Trafford and the visitors were unlucky not to be given a penalty in the first half when Juan Mata tripped Yoan Gouffran.
Sloppy defending allowed United to bag all three points, much to Taylor's dismay.
The Newcastle defender felt his team-mates allowed United’s big names too much time and space to show off their talents.
"We made it far too easy for them. We showed them too much respect," Taylor said.
"We should have been right in their faces and put a few tackles in during the first five or 10 minutes like we did against Chelsea.
"We need to put pressure on the opposition. We need to test them out. If you give them that much respect, anyone can look good and we made them look good."
Watch Newcastle against Everton live on Sky Sports 1, with coverage from 4pm on Sunday.
