Newcastle win stirs Andros Townsend's belief on survival

Andros Townsend has urged Newcastle to grasp the survival lifeline they have been thrown to preserve their Premier League status.

Rafael Benitez's men began the weekend six points adrift of safety, but boosted their hopes of pulling off a great escape after rivals and fellow relegation candidates Sunderland did both a favour by winning at Norwich before the Magpies beat Swansea 3-0.

The likelihood is still that two of the three clubs which occupy 17th, 18th and 19th places will join relegated Aston Villa in the Championship, but victory over Manchester City in their game in hand on the Canaries would lift Newcastle out of the drop zone and increase belief that they can rescue themselves.

Townsend, a January arrival from Tottenham, told the club's website: "It was massively important. The games have been running out and we knew that eventually we had to get three points, and we've done that now.

"We've got five games left and we've got to win our home games if we want to stay in the Premier League.

"I think people outside the club wrote us off after the Southampton game, but we knew that four of our last six games are at home, we knew that we had a good record at home and we knew that we were still in with a chance.

"One week later, everything's changed. Norwich have slipped up, we've capitalised and now it's anyone's to grab now. Hopefully we can be the team that takes the last five games by the scruff of the neck and does enough to survive."

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Townsend played a key role as the Magpies belatedly handed Benitez his first win on his 56th birthday, delivering the corner for Jamaal Lascelles to head in the opener before setting up skipper Moussa Sissoko to score a second.

The £12m signing from Spurs wrapped up the victory in the final minute of normal time with his second goal in as many games, but it was the manner of victory as much as the fact of it which gave his team cause for hope.

Lascelles belied his youth and inexperience with an outspoken critique of his team's performance and character at Southampton last weekend, but the 22-year-old was delighted with the reaction seven days later.

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He said: "In this changing room, we need a character because I think we have lacked it - I said it last week, I think we have lacked it a little bit this season.

"I'm young, but I don't think that matters. I don't care about experience or anything like that - if you can talk, you can talk, so do it.

"But it's had a big reaction on the other players and that's exactly what we needed, so I am really pleased with them."

Watch Newcastle take on Manchester City in a Football Special on Tuesday, April 19 from 7pm on Sky Sports 1.

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