VERSATILE defender Aaron Hughes last night revealed the Newcastle United dressing room is buzzing again.

The Magpies have won their last three Premiership matches to erase the memory of a disappointing start to the season.

Sir Bobby Robson's men dropped to an unfamiliar second bottom in the League table in September after claiming just one victory from five top-flight matches.

But now, after Saturday's hard-earned 2-1 over West Brom, Newcastle are back above the halfway mark and chasing a top four place.

And Hughes, who can play in a variety of defensive positions, is convinced the St James' Park outfit are beginning to enjoy a return to the form which saw them claim a Champions' League place last season.

He said: "If we're going to finish anywhere near where we finished last year then we have to win our home games. Whatever the opposition," said Hughes.

"But it becomes harder every season. Every year the standard of the league improves, players get better and expectations rise.

"Last season demonstrated the value of grinding out results and stealing wins when we weren't at our best.

"The West Brom victory shows we haven't lost that knack. We've got plenty of talent and we should be too good for a lot of teams. We're confident we can do that."

The clash with the Baggies was Newcastle's eighth match in 24 days. But now the Tyneside club are nicely placed in eighth place ahead of their next match with Blackburn a week on Saturday.

And Hughes, in the Northern Ireland squad for the game with Spain this weekend, insists he does not need a rest and just likes to play in every match.

"It's still early in the season and we have had a pretty punishing schedule," said Hughes, who has started all 13 matches for his club so far.

"The standard of games we've played and the level of opposition has taken a lot out of us but so far we're feeling OK.

"We get plenty of rest in between games and although you feel tired you're always in the right condition ahead of the next game.

"We're only in October and the end of the season might be different.

"At the moment our tough pre-season schedule is paying off."

Meanwhile, Hughes - who makes his 25th appearnce for his country against the Spaniards in Saturday's European Championship Qualifier in Albacete - has called for Northern Ireland to take a leaf out of other unfancied nations' book. Both the Republic of Ireland and Wales are enjoying good spells on the international stage.

And Hughes, who also takes on the Ukraine in Belfast a week today, said: "Hopefully we'll have our best side available in Spain because there were a number of young players in the side when we faced them earlier this year.

"When you go to a country like Spain there's no doubt you need your most experienced players.

"At the moment we're trying to get a good squad together and keep it together.

"We have to look at teams like the Republic of Ireland and Wales and follow their lead.

"We have to see if their success is something we can emulate and there's no reason why that shouldn't be the case.

"We have got a decent pool of players but we need to find some consistency.

"Wales have found it even though they are in a similar situation to us and now they're playing higher quality friendlies and starting to pick up the results at home and abroad.

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