NEWCASTLE United's players have cancelled Christmas as they attempt to engineer an improvement over the festive period.

With the Magpies having lost six of their last seven Premier League matches, the club's players have opted to cancel their traditional Christmas party in order to concentrate on their forthcoming games.

Sunderland's players held their Christmas night out in Dublin last weekend, but the Newcastle squad pulled the plug on their planned December bash in the wake of Saturday's 3-1 defeat to Manchester City.

The rest of the club's backroom staff have followed suit, with manager Alan Pardew explaining: "It's out of respect to our fans, and what we've served this year. There's no party for us, and the same for the staff. That's how it should be."

In recent years, Newcastle's players have enjoyed a Christmas night out in Dublin and Glasgow, and Pardew claims the collective decision to change tack this year underlines the depth of unhappiness at the club's recent struggles.

He said: "We're together, and we're fighting and trying to put it right. Fans have to realise this isn't just a game to us - it's our livelihoods and our profession. It pays our bills.

"Not only that, we have to have a certain pressure of entertaining our fans who pay good money to come and watch.

"Looking at all those factors, we've not done enough this year. That's why I think it's right they called it off."