Steven Taylor says Newcastle continue to look up the table

The Magpies have endured a frustrating 2012/13 campaign, with consistency and momentum having eluded them for long periods.

An inability to string positive results together has left them languishing in the bottom-half of the division.

A 4-0 reversal against Manchester City last time out means there are just three points separating Newcastle from the relegation zone.

Taylor, though, maintains that no-one at St James' Park is thinking about a survival scrap.

He told the Evening Chronicle: "I am confident in my team-mates. I look around the dressing room at the players who I train with every day, and I am sat around top-class. This definitely makes me believe we are going to do well.

"We are not looking down, we are looking up. We are looking at who we can catch and chase.

"If you look at the games we have coming up - Benfica twice, Fulham and then Sunderland - we are excited.

"In the next few weeks, I am looking to see this all wrapped up in the Premier League and hopefully we can look forward to the Europa League."