NEWCASTLE - Rafael Benitez says Newcastle faces two 'cup finals' as the team's bid to avoid relegation from the Premier League looks set to go down to the wire.
Benitez's side climbed out of the bottom three for the first time in almost two months thanks to Saturday's dramatic 1-0 victory over FA Cup finalists Crystal Palace, who themselves are not quite safe from danger.
Despite Palace's slump, realistically Newcastle is in a three-way battle with local rivals Sunderland and Norwich City to avoid the two remaining places to join Aston Villa in the Championship next season.
After giving their survival hopes renewed hope with a fourth game unbeaten thanks to Andros Townsend's free-kick and Karl Darlow's late penalty save from former Newcastle midfielder Yohan Cabaye, Benitez's side travels to Villa before hosting Tottenham on the final day of the season.
Victory in the team's final two games might be enough to avoid a second relegation in seven years.
But with Sunderland and Norwich enjoying a game in hand over them, Benitez knows Newcastle, now one point above the bottom three, will have to maintain the impressive performance levels to beat the drop.
"It's important for us and for the fans to see the table and that we're out of the bottom three," said Benitez, who is eight games into a 10-match rescue mission he inherited when replacing former England boss Steve McClaren in March.
"We still have to keep going and we have to approach the game against Villa as another final. We have to be ready for the next game.
"People have asked me if we have to win our last two games to stay up but I say it's just about winning the next one, and then after that we think about the final game.
"That's the only way you can approach our situation."