CRAIG Bellamy has warned his team-mates that they are playing for their Newcastle futures as they look to turn around the club's disappointing start to the season.

Three defeats in the last month have left the Magpies ninth in the Premiership table, ten points behind tomorrow's opponents Everton and 14 points adrift of leaders Chelsea.

The UEFA Cup has proved the silver lining in United's season so far, with Thursday night's thrilling 4-0 win in Sochaux making it five wins out of five in the competition.

The Premiership remains the bread and butter and, with a Champions League spot rapidly disappearing over the horizon, Bellamy expects wholesale changes if Newcastle are left empty-handed.

"If we want to stay here at this great club we have to go out and get back into the Champions League, but we need to win something for the fans as well," said the Wales international. "Otherwise a lot of us won't be here much longer.

"We're desperate to win something. We need to win a trophy as soon as we can because this is a massive club and we've got to be realistic about that.

"For a club of this size not to win something for so long is nothing short of really, really bad and it's up to us to do something about that."

Last weekend's Selhurst Park success got United back to winning ways, but tomorrow they will face an Everton side who have lost just three times in the Premiership all season.

David Moyes' side currently occupy the top three spot that most neutral observers expected Newcastle to be challenging for at the start of the season, and Bellamy accepts that the current gap between the two sides is utterly unacceptable.

"We're ninth in the table, but in terms of points we're nowhere near where we should be," he said. "Nowhere near. We need Champions League football - it's vital for the club and it's vital for us as players.

"We've given ourselves a mountain to climb to get that fourth spot, but hopefully winning at Crystal Palace will spearhead us towards that.

"We need to win every game in the league now. I know it's an old clich, but each one is an FA Cup final. We've got to win every game and that's why Everton is so crucial - we've got to beat them."

Alan Shearer's thigh injury means Bellamy is likely to be partnered by Patrick Kluivert tomorrow, despite Shola Ameobi's goalscoring exploits in France on Thursday.

Graeme Souness' biggest selection poser comes in midfield, with the Scot having to decide whether to go with functionality or flair.

If he prefers the former, Jermaine Jenas is likely to line up on the left of midfield, with Kieron Dyer on the opposite flank, in an attempt to combat Everton's five-man midfield.

But if he plumps for the latter, Jenas will switch to the right with French winger Laurent Robert lining up on the left-hand side.

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