Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has insisted that his side must bounce back from three consecutive defeats when they face Fulham today.

The Magpies were beaten 3-1 by Benfica in the Europa League on Thursday, after losses to Manchester City and Wigan Athletic in the Premier League.

Pardew insists that the players need a win to set themselves up for the quarter-final return leg against Benfica.

"The Fulham game is an important one for us, there is no doubt about that," Pardew told Press Association Sport.

"We want to set ourselves up for Thursday - probably to do that, we are going to need a win.

"We had a tough game against Benfica on Thursday but there is no reason why we can't show our strength on the pitch and win."

Newcastle face Fulham at St James' Park at 3pm this afternoon.