Alan Pardew believes that Newcastle United need at least two more wins from their remaining seven fixtures to guarantee safety in the Premier League.
The Magpies are perched just three points above the drop zone following this afternoon's 4-0 defeat to Manchester City.
"We need two victories at least, and maybe a third, to get ourselves a strong position," Pardew told BBC Sport.
"We are missing some big players at the moment, but we are hoping a few players will be back for Thursday's Europa league game [against Benfica]."
Pardew said that there was a relaxed demeanor to the champions' play at the Etihad Stadium this afternoon, and believes that his team afforded their opponents too much time and space in which to operate.
"[City] played with no pressure about them," he added. "There was a relaxation around their quality players, but we did not squeeze them enough.
"We were not tight enough or aggressive enough."
Newcastle's next league fixture sees them welcome Fulham to St James' Park on April 7.
Michael Penkman
