Defender Aaron Hughes has admitted that Wednesday's visit to Liverpool will determine whether Newcastle can maintain their championship challenge.

Saturday's 2-0 home defeat by Arsenal was a crushing blow to the Magpies' hopes of landing their first top-flight crown for 75 years.

Now they must avoid another setback at Anfield, a graveyard for their title ambitions on two occasions in recent memory, to keep their push on track.

With Liverpool winning 2-0 at Fulham, Newcastle have slipped two places to fourth after witnessing the end of their six-match winning streak in all competitions.

And Northern Ireland international Hughes said: "We don't rule out the title, but we've never said we would win it.

"We're still looking for a place in the top four, but it's vital we get something at Liverpool to stay in touch.

"We have ten games left, a lot of points to play for, our home form has been good and we can pick up points here." Arsenal led 2-0 at half-time courtesy of a Dennis Bergkamp wonder goal and a rare effort from England centre-back Sol Campbell.

And right-back Hughes, who was given a torrid time by French flyer Robert Pires, conceded: "Arsenal showed there is a gap between us.

"They closed the game down and showed how to shut up shop.

"When they play like that, they've got a great chance of winning the title. You can't rule out Manchester United, but this was a great performance by Arsenal. They scored their first goal when we were at our best and they killed the game in the second half.

"It's almost impossible to defend against a goal like Bergkamp's. Nikos Dabizas was close to him, but you can't attach any blame.'' Newcastle badly missed 14-goal striker Craig Bellamy, who is out for several weeks with a knee injury, and Hughes confessed: "It's going to be hard without Craig.

"He's going to be a big miss after the season he's had. It isn't the same without him, but it's disrespectful to the other lads to keep talking about that.'' A huge bonus for Newcastle, however, was the precocious performance of new boy Jermaine Jenas.

The £5m capture from Nottingham Forest, in his first home start, made sure that the usually imperious Patrick Vieira knew he had been in a game.

"Jermaine is only a boy of 19 and Vieira is a man,'' said Newcastle boss Bobby Robson. "It was a remarkable performance. He's had two full games, this one and the one at Sunderland, and he hasn't looked out of place. We've got so much to come from him over the years." Robson refused to be downcast, insisting: "We have nothing to be ashamed of. We haven't played badly, we were never outplayed, but Arsenal were too good for us overall.

"They ran the clock down, they fell over when they needed to and played a typical European game.

"But we're a worthy top-four side. We're not finished yet and we have to make sure we don't buckle.

"We don't have to play Arsenal every week - but we have to play them again this week! "It's an FA Cup tie and it'll be a different match.'' Newcastle were yesterday linked with an audacious £12m bid for Sunderland striker Kevin Phillips.

But Newcastle are the last club the Wearsiders would agree a deal with for Phillips, who has attracted interest from Arsenal and Tottenham.

And Sunderland insist the England international is not for sale.