WITH their Premier League status still hanging in the balance, Vurnon Anita has urged his Newcastle United team-mates to draw a line under the past and not become too fixated on the issues that plunged the club into crisis at the start of the month.

The Magpies have endured a chaotic couple of weeks, with a nine-man defeat at Leicester kick-starting a chain of events that culminated in the club’s hierarchy offering Steve McClaren the opportunity to take over for the final three games of the season, only for them then to have to backtrack and throw their weight behind John Carver for the remainder of the campaign.

The 3-0 defeat at the King Power Stadium took Carver’s side to within two points of the relegation zone, and while they were unable to extend the gap to the bottom three last weekend, at least a 1-1 draw with West Brom halted a losing run that had stretched to eight games.

Newcastle will head to already-relegated QPR on Saturday knowing that a win would guarantee their Premier League survival if Hull were to lose at Tottenham, and while many of the club’s problems are so deep-rooted they will not be adequately addressed in the space of a few games, Anita insists it is time to forget about the failings of the past and concentrate on the future.

“It’s important to put the past behind us and move on,” said the Dutchman, who could remain at right-back on Saturday despite Daryl Janmaat’s return from suspension. “We can’t keep constantly looking back and talking about things that have happened now.

“Finally, I thought the game against West Brom provided a bit of a bright side to what has been a difficult few weeks. It gave us to something to build on, and we just have to look to the future now and not get too caught up with what has happened before. We need to keep on going because we are still not where we want to be.”

While Saturday’s result was an improvement on what had preceded it, Newcastle have still not recorded a victory since they edged out Aston Villa at St James’ Park at the end of February.

Their last away win came at Hull City a month earlier, but their final trip of the season could hardly be more inviting given the turmoil that has followed QPR’s 6-0 thrashing at Manchester City last weekend, a defeat that confirmed the London club’s relegation.

This week’s newspapers have revealed the extent of the dressing-room disintegration at Loftus Road, and for once, Newcastle will be taking on a side in an even more chaotic state than their own.

They should be buoyed by Saturday’s performance, which, while far from perfect given that West Brom struck the woodwork in either half, still represented a marked step forward from their disastrous display at Leicester.

“It was nice to be able to draw a line under a few things at the weekend and move on,” said Anita. “We stopped the losing run with a point, and that was very important.

“The spirit in the team was never a problem, but it should be even better now as we look forward to the final two matches against QPR and West Ham. We showed some real character to come back from going behind against West Brom.

“It was a good reaction from us, and also from everybody in the stadium, which was also important. We kept on going and worked hard for our goal. We were the team pushing to get the second goal at the end.

“We need to show the same fighting mentality in the last two games that we did against West Brom. If we do that, we will be okay.”

Newcastle’s ongoing survival battle has taken precedence over the club’s pursuit of a permanent head coach, but managing director Lee Charnley continues to monitor his options following McClaren’s decision to reject a return to the North-East.

Rayo Vallecano head coach Paco Jemez is one of the overseas candidates under consideration, but the Magpies might have to move quickly if they want to recruit the highly-rated Spaniard.

Jemez is set to reject the offer of a new two-year deal with Rayo, and has held talks with Brentford, who are looking to appoint a successor to Mark Warburton.

He would only be interested in a move to Griffin Park if the Bees were to win promotion to the top-flight, something that now appears unlikely following their 2-1 defeat to Middlesbrough in the first leg of the play-off semi-final.

However, the Spanish media claim Sevilla have now also made contact with Jemez to discuss the possibility of him taking over at the Ramon Sanchez Pizjuan, with Unai Emery’s future in considerable doubt.

The opportunity to remain in his homeland with a Sevilla side currently fifth in La Liga would make considerable appeal, and as a result, Newcastle are set to miss out on another of their leading targets.

Meanwhile, Southampton are pondering a summer move for Newcastle’s England Under-18 international goalkeeper Freddie Woodman.