Manchester United cannot afford any more slip-ups in the title race, according to defender Chris Smalling.
Jose Mourinho's side slipped eight points behind leaders Manchester City following Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Chelsea at Stamford Bridge.
United have lost two of their last three Premier League matches, with Smalling admitting they must beat Newcastle in their first game back following the international break.
"It's unfortunate there's now an international break but we’ll have to regroup and in our next game make sure we put on a performance to rectify this,” said Smalling.
“I think it’s about us getting back to Old Trafford for that game and put on a performance that the fans can be proud of.
"The result was frustrating because we put in so much effort and I think we controlled large parts of the game.
“We put them on the back foot in the first-half, we just needed to take one of the chances when we had the momentum.
“We also put Chelsea under some pressure in the last 20 minutes and I thought we deserved a goal.”
Sunday's loss was part of a bigger picture that will concern United, with Mourinho having not won away at a top six rival since November 2014, at Liverpool with Chelsea.
In nine of his last 10 games against the traditional top six, Mourinho's side have failed to score, the last goal coming towards the end of last season in a 2-1 defeat at Tottenham.
After making an explosive start to his United career with 11 goals in 10 games, Romelu Lukaku has not scored in his last seven and looks devoid of confidence.
With Juan Mata having scored just once this season and having provided zero assists in the league, and Henrikh Mkhitaryan currently a passenger after a bright start to the campaign, these are worrying times for United.
There is little in terms of creative output and service to Lukaku, and the continued absence of £89million midfielder Paul Pogba, who has now missed 12 games with a hamstring injury, is hitting United hard.
There is no suggestion Pogba will be ready to return against Newcastle, straight after the international break, and with two potentially title race-defining games coming up against Arsenal and City in early December, United cannot afford to lose any more ground.