Jack Colback has challenged his Newcastle United teammates to respond to Saturday's heavy defeat at Arsenal by successfully negotiating their "massive week".
Seven days after beating Chelsea to end the Blues' 23-game unbeaten run in all competitions, the Magpies came back to earth with a bang by losing 4-1 at the Emirates.
Alan Pardew's side now face Tottenham Hotspur in a League Cup quarter-final on Wednesday, before renewing hostilities with North East rivals Sunderland on Sunday.
Colback, who will face the Black Cats for the first time since swapping them for Newcastle in the summer, told the Daily Mail: "It's a massive week.
"We have to forget about that performance. They out-played us and won all their battles. We weren't quite at it and were a bit off the pace. Maybe we didn't show Arsenal enough respect.
"But these are two massive games now. We've got to put things right. But we have shown character to bounce back all season, just look at the win we got against Chelsea."
United sit eighth in the Premier League table, one point behind Spurs in seventh and seven clear of 16th-placed Sunderland.
Shane Callaghan
