NEWCASTLE UNITED captain Fabricio Coloccini believes Saturday’s defeat to Arsenal could be a blessing in disguise following their recent run of form.

The Magpies were brought back down to earth with a bump at the Emirates Stadium when Alan Pardew’s side were beaten 4-1.

The defeat was only Newcastle’s second in 11 games following a rich vein of form throughout November, which saw the Tynesiders climb away from trouble and into the top eight.

Wednesday’s Capital One Cup quarter-final tie with Tottenham is followed by the small matter of the Tyne-Wear derby on Sunday, and Coloccini believes the weekend’s result will offer a timely reminder to the squad that they must not take their feet off the gas after wins over Manchester City, Liverpool and Chelsea.

“We didn't play well at Arsenal and we know that,” the defender said. “This has put our feet on the ground after the Chelsea win. It reminds us we have to work very hard to get a result.

“We have got a number of points which we have worked hard to get. We can't forget how hard we have to work to get those points.

"We have had a good season so far because we didn't get the results in the first half of the season. We were still fighting but didn’t get the points.

“We have to be focused on the next game and to go back again to Tottenham and make sure we fight.”

Newcastle head into tomorrow's tie having already beaten Spurs at White Hart Lane in October in the Premier League.

Sunday’s derby will also be on the minds of Pardew and Co this week, but despite pressure to win on Sunday following back-to-back defeats to the Black Cats on home soil, the Argentine centre-back insists the prospect of reaching a cup semi-final will focus the squad.

He said: “The next two games are very important. We can't just think about Tottenham. That is the next game and we know it is important for the city, the club, and we have to be ready.

“For us to be in a semi-final and then a final would be a dream. We have to focus on this 90 minutes first.”

Pardew has promised to field at strong team in North London tomorrow and must decide whether to play young striker Ayoze Perez after his match-winner at White Hart Lane a few weeks ago.

The 21-year-old scored his fourth goal of the season against Arsenal and Coloccini hopes the former Tenerife front man can continue his impressive start to life in the Premier League.

“Ayoze is a young player, he is still learning and he is already very important,” the captain said. “Hopefully he can score more. I don’t want to compare him with anyone. He has to create his own history by scoring more goals for us.

“The young players are learning. They have to keep their feet on the ground. They are learning every game and we all can't forget we have to work hard to get results.”

Meanwhile, Cheick Tiote is confident Saturday’s defeat will not affect the spirit in the Magpies camp.

Confidence has been high following their run of six consecutive wins and the midfielder insists the squad remains positive going into the games against Spurs and Sunderland.

He said: “Everybody is disappointed about the game, when Ayo scored it gave us the confidence that we could get back into the game and we tried to push and push to make it closer.

“Because of that we conceded the fourth goal on the break, and that can happen when you are chasing the game.

“We have been on a very good run and we still have confidence in ourselves, but we have to improve.

“We know we can do better than this and we will learn from the match - we didn't defend well enough as a team. We did not do the right things on the pitch.”

Moussa Sissoko and Steven Taylor return to the squad after suspension, but Daryl Janmaat will miss tomorrow night’s match after picking up his fifth caution of the season.