Newcastle United's Vurnon Anita wants fans to get behind team

Newcastle United midfielder Vurnon Anita has admitted that he would like to see the club's fans replicate the atmosphere of St James' Park during their final-day win over West Ham United last season.

The Magpies beat the Hammers 2-0 to guarantee Premier League survival and finish 15th in the standings.

Anita says that it is up to the team to give the supporters reasons to cheer under new head coach Steve McClaren.

"We have to start the new season the way we ended last year with the win over West Ham. We have to start again," the Dutchman told The Chronicle.

"From the beginning we have to start just like that. We saw that day that we had everybody behind us, which is going to make a big difference.

"It was important for myself and the team because we wanted to stay up. We gave everything. We want it like that in every game."

Newcastle open up the new campaign with a home match against Southampton on August 9.