Newcastle United forward Shola Ameobi has insisted that off-field matters will not affect the players ahead of their game against Chelsea on Saturday.

All the talk in the build-up to the Premier League clash at Stamford Bridge has been surrounding Joe Kinnear, who resigned as director of football at the club this week, less than eight months after being appointed.

Despite this, Ameobi has urged his teammates to focus on the matter in hand, starting with the Blues on the weekend.

"As players you just concentrate on your job," the 32-year-old is quoted as saying on Sky Sports News. "In football there are a lot of different aspects to it.

"As players, ultimately what we have got to do is concentrate on what we do as a group of guys on the pitch and try and implement what the coaching staff want us to do. That's our focus, that's always been the player's focus.

"Obviously a lot of things have been said outside of that, but you just have to remember what we are here for and that's to win games of football, and that's what we'll do this week."

Alan Pardew's side will be looking to bounce back from their 3-0 home defeat at the hands of rivals Sunderland last weekend.