Magpies have to sharpen things up to end season on a high, says Mo

END-OF-SEASON LETHARGY COULD SPOIL THE PARTY

MO Diame has warned his teammates they risk spoiling their own party if they don’t shake off their late-season grogginess.

The Magpies stumbled their way through the home meeting with West Bromwich Albion and were unable to stop Darren Moore’s side emerging with a 1-0 win at St James’ Park.

The result put a dent in Newcastle United’s hopes of ending their first season back in the Premier League with a top 10 finish.

Diame did not hold back in his analysis of the display against West Brom and told The Chronicle: “Now we need to get back to the same hard work we were showing before because if not we are going to spoil our own party here.

“We worked hard to build that up so now we have to get back to training and show the right mentality and right attitude.

“It’s frustrating and disappointing.

“When you play at home you have to make sure if you can’t get the win, at least stop the visitors winning and get something.

“We didn’t do that and we’re disappointed by that.”

United’s recent successes have been met with a theory that it’s “job done” for the Magpies just 12 months after winning promotion from the Sky Bet Championship.

However, former Hull City and West Ham United star Diame does not buy into such talk, and added: “We’re safe, but as a professional footballer you have to play games to win.

“You can’t turn up here just to enjoy it.

“You have to come here to win games and that’s why we are here, even more so when you play at home against teams who are at the bottom of the league and take those points.”

Despite suffering defeats to Everton and West Brom, Newcastle are still in with a great shout of ending what has been a testing season in the upper half of the Premier League. Yet Diame is not looking beyond the trip to Vicarage Road on Saturday as the Magpies look to put some daylight between themselves and nearby rivals.

The retired Senegal international said: “We don’t think about having three games left, we will think about nothing but Watford.

“That’s the next one and we have to come back with some points.

“We didn’t have the luck and that can happen.

“But if you don’t have the luck then at least you have to get a draw. “You can’t get beat.” Newcastle players left the field feeling dejected after the poor show against Albion at the weekend, but they will be roared on by 2,000 fans in Hertfordshire on Saturday.

Diame looked ahead to the trip south and said: “It was a game that we needed to show the right attitude and character.

“We need the same desire we had on the four-game winning run. “We know we can do it now. “We’ve done it against Arsenal and Manchester United, so why not West Brom?

“We’ll need to work hard against Watford in the next game.”