Steve Bruce has insisted nobody at Newcastle needs to be told how serious the club's Premier League plight is.
The Magpies saw their advantage over the bottom three dwindle to a single point over the weekend after they could only draw 0-0 at West Brom as Fulham claimed a shock victory at Liverpool.
Newcastle head into Friday night's clash with Aston Villa knowing a win would ease their fears and pile the pressure on the clubs below them, but anything else would set fresh alarm bells ringing.
Bruce said: 'We've understood that for a while now.