Tiote wants Magpies to remain united

West Ham United 0 Newcastle United 0

A share of the spoils at Upton Park on most occasions would be considered a good result for a team fighting for survival towards the bottom of the Premier League.

But with fellow strugglers Wigan and Aston Villa both picking up away wins, Alan Pardew’s side are now just three points above the drop zone.

The Magpies appeared to defy claims of dressing room unrest with their steely performance in east London, where Papiss Cisse came closest to sealing the three points, and Tiote knows that must continue against already relegated QPR.

“Everyone was together and we played as a team. We were more compact and that’s important. On Sunday we’ve got to do the same and hopefully we can take the three points.”

Questions of cliques among the Newcastle squad surfaced after an abject performance in a 6-0 thrashing at home by Liverpool.

The team were particularly poor defensively but Tiote felt the return to fitness of captain Fabricio Coloccini had the desired effect.

“I think it helped us because we know Coloccini’s a good player with a lot of experience,” he said.