Head coach Mauricio Pochettino has admitted that he did not want the November international break to arrive after Chelsea's recent performances.

The Blues have endured an inconsistent start under Pochettino, the consequence being that they currently sit in the middle of the Premier League standings.

However, in their last two fixtures, Chelsea have collected four points against Tottenham Hotspur and Manchester City respectively.

After beating Spurs 4-1 on away territory in a chaotic London derby, Chelsea fought from behind on three occasions to earn a 4-4 draw against the defending champions.

Chelsea came away from both matches with a wide array of plaudits, with the general consensus being that progress is now being made under Pochettino.

Nevertheless, Chelsea now face a triple-header against Newcastle, Brighton & Hove Albion and Manchester United, teams who are direct rivals for European qualification.

While Pochettino has acknowledged that he would have preferred to continue with their schedule, he stated at a press conference on Friday that he backs his players to pick up where they left off.

Speaking to reporters, Pochettino said: "I think so, yes. I agree, it came at a bad time, but we are going to try to keep the momentum.

"We will try to have an amazing game against a team against Newcastle who are a very good team. It is going to be tough because St James' Park is always amazing.

"But yes, we will try to keep the momentum, but I believe that we are going to keep the momentum even with the two weeks with no competition."

Chelsea make the long trip to the North East sitting in 10th position, four points adrift of their seventh-placed hosts.

Pochettino's side have also put together a four-game undefeated streak on their travels in the top flight, collecting 10 points in the process.

From Newcastle's perspective, though, they have recorded four successive league wins at St James' Park, not losing in the Premier League on home territory since the end of August.