Tuesday 29 March 2016 11:13, UK
Andros Townsend believes every game Newcastle play now will be bigger than the last as they gear up for a frantic end to the season.
Rafa Bentiez's side are three points adrift of 17th-placed Norwich, albeit with a game in hand, and visit Carrow Road on Saturday.
They also play Swansea in their next home fixture with the Welsh side currently sitting 15th, while they are at bottom side Aston Villa in their penultimate fixture.
Townsend, a £12m signing from White Hart Lane in January, appreciates the gravity of his new club's situation and the importance of getting winning results with time running out.
He said: "You could have said the derby (with fellow strugglers Sunderland, a 1-1 draw) was the biggest one of all time.
"Now, it's Norwich and that's the biggest game of our careers. Then it'll be the game after that.
"We have eight cup finals to come and we need to treat them like that. We need to start picking up points sooner rather than later."
Townsend was brought in by Steve McClaren as part of a £29m recruitment drive in January but lost his job on March 11 after five defeats in six games and just two wins in 13.
Although he is delighted to now work under McClaren's replacement Rafa Benitez, the England international was sorry to see his old head coach leave.
He added: "Getting Rafa Benitez to come to Newcastle just shows how big the club is. He's won everything around the world and managed the best players.
"It can only be a positive for us. We can stay up this season and we can keep one of the best managers at Newcastle.
"It's been fantastic with Rafa coming in, but it's no secret I was disappointed when McClaren left. They paid a lot of money to get me here.
"It was Steve who put his faith in me to get me here. This is football, and you need to move on."
