Solano: No need to panic

Nolberto Solano says his side must show patience against AZ Alkmaar in the Uefa Cup.

Nolberto Solano says his side do not have to press the panic button to dump AZ Alkmaar out of the Uefa Cup.

Instead the Peruvian insists intelligence and patience could be the key to breaking down the Dutch side.

Newcastle failed to find the net against Middlesbrough on Saturday and Solano says if they are to avoid another blank at St James' Park they must play through the midfield to create chances for Obafemi Martins and Kieron Dyer.

"There is no need to panic. We need to play football," explained Solano.

"You cannot play long balls to Kieron and Oba because they are quite small.

"That's why we must be positive, play through the midfield and use the ball intelligently. From there, we can create chances.

"We did not score against Boro, but we know that we have to score tonight to get through."

Louis van Gaal's AZ pose the biggest challenge yet to Newcastle's hopes of going all the way in Europe this season having dispensed with Turkish outfit Fenerbahce in the last round.

Alkmaar scored three times in Istanbul before behind pegged back to 3-3, and then recovered from a 2-0 deficit at the DSB Stadium to reach the last 16 on the away goals rule.

"They are very organised and a very good tactical side," added Solano.

"They will create chances here, but we know we have to create opportunities and take them here too if we want a good result to take over to Holland next week.

"We need to be clever against a team that have some good players and a good coach in Louis van Gaal.

"Everybody knows him and his teams play very good football."