Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul has issued a rallying cry to his teammates ahead of the Premier League clash with Chelsea at St James' Park on Saturday.

The Magpies are currently without a win under manager Steve McClaren and were knocked out of the Capital One Cup by Sheffield Wednesday during the week, meaning this weekend's meeting with the reigning champions has become more important than it once may have been.

The Dutch gloveman told Newcastle's official website: "Everybody needs to grow now. We need to come out and show we are real men.

"Chelsea and Manchester City are two massive games and we have to show that we've got the fight for it."

"We need to be better than that, as a team and individually.

"Everybody has to look at themselves in the mirror and ask if they gave everything. If not, they have to start straight away, because what we are doing at the moment is really not good enough.

"A couple of players put in good performances but there were also some really bad ones.

"The team we put out was more than good enough to win this game, and they didn't really trouble us. But if you don't score, you give them hope. That's what we did and they took advantage.

"The goal was just a long ball which dropped down and the shot got a deflection to take it in. That's their game - the Championship long ball - but we knew that and should have dealt with it so much better."