Steve Harper: 'Penny has dropped for Newcastle United'

Former Newcastle United goalkeeper Steve Harper has said that he believes 'the penny has dropped' for the Magpies following back-to-back surprise victories.

Steve McClaren had won just two of his first 14 Premier League games in charge of the club before their recent resurgence, which has seen them beat Liverpool and Tottenham Hotspur in succession to climb out of the relegation zone.

They will have a chance to make it three wins on the spin for the first time this calendar year when they host Aston Villa on Saturday, but Harper is still wary of a slip-up despite their recent improvement.

"I think the players are putting a shift in, we've seen that in the last couple of performances. The penny might well have dropped that if you collectively go out and win your one-on-one battles and put a shift in then you can get a result," he told talkSPORT.

"They've certainly dug in in the last couple of weeks. Two games ago, Steve McClaren's job looked under threat, two games later and it's all looking rosy again.

"But this is a Newcastle side that could quite easily not turn up [against Villa] and get turned over."

Newcastle have not lost to Villa in their last eight league meetings.