ALESKANDAR MITROVIC admits his patience is “almost at an end”, and has stressed the importance of playing regular football over the next six months as he builds up to his maiden appearance at a World Cup finals.

Mitrovic has not started a single Premier League game this season, with the sum total of his involvement in Newcastle United’s league campaign amounting to 49 minutes spread over three appearances from the substitutes’ bench.

He has bitten his tongue up to now, but after featuring in the final 19 minutes of Saturday’s 4-1 defeat at Manchester United, the striker readily admits he is approaching the end of his tether.

Having been persistently linked with a move away from Tyneside in the summer, Mitrovic is clearly on the fringe of Rafael Benitez’s plans, and the fact he was not introduced in the closing stages of the 1-0 defeat to Bournemouth that preceded the international break spoke volumes for his peripheral status.

That would be bad enough at any time, but having helped Serbia finish at the top of their World Cup qualifying group, Mitrovic is desperate to be leading the line for his country in Russia next summer.

That might not happen if he is sidelined in the second half of the season, and if his first-team prospects do not improve in the next five weeks, he will surely be pushing as hard as he can for a move when the transfer window reopens in January.

“I’m patient, but we will see,” said Mitrovic, who only managed 11 league starts as Newcastle won the Championship title last season. “My patience is almost to the end, so we will see. I want to play. I want to be on the pitch. I’m patient, but we will see.”

When asked whether he would reassess his position at the turn of the year, the striker added: “I see where I am already. I’ve said already that I’m patient, but we will see. I don’t know what to say. I’m here, and we'll see what's happening.”

Given that Benitez is refusing to start him even though Newcastle have scored just two goals in their last four matches, it is hard to see Mitrovic’s position altering unless the Magpies suffer a glut of attacking injuries.

Benitez clearly feels he cannot trust the 23-year-old, whose suspect temperament and questionable work rate have been criticised in the past. In his defence, Mitrovic provides the kind of physical presence that is currently lacking in much of Newcastle’s play, and scored against West Ham in one of his three substitute appearances this term.

He also scored in Serbia’s World Cup qualifying win over Moldova in September, and was a key performer as his side made it to their first major tournament since they failed to make it past the group stage at the 2010 World Cup in South Africa.

Qualifying for Russia was a massive deal to the Serbs, and Mitrovic is understandably desperate to ensure he remains in Mladen Krstajic’s squad.

“It’s a big thing for the whole country, for all the Serbian players and for all the people in Serbia,” he said. “It's a big thing for my country, my family and all people in Serbia. If you want to do something there, you have to be ready. If I want to be ready, I have to play games and to be on the pitch scoring goals. That’s it.”

Despite his lack of involvement, Mitrovic remains a firm favourite of the Newcastle fans, and the supporters’ backing is one of the few things that is enabling him to remain upbeat.

“This is what’s keeping me alive,” he said. “Since the beginning, I don't know why, but we (him and the fans) have had a really amazing relationship. I love them, they love me.

“Newcastle is in my heart, and even if I maybe go somewhere, Newcastle will be in my heart. I hope I will stay here, but we will see what happens. I will always be a Newcastle United fan all my life. We will see.”