WITH Alan Pardew keen to rest the majority of his key players in the Europa League, Jonas Gutierrez has challenged Newcastle’s young stars to make the most of their opportunity to impress.

The Magpies are already halfway through their Europa League group campaign and sit top of Group D after two wins against Bordeaux and Brugge and a draw against Maritimo.

Pardew takes his side to Belgium for the return fixture against Brugge next Thursday and as he has done so far in the competition, the Magpies manager is expected to rest a lot of his key players.

The likes of Gutierrez, Fabricio Coloccini, Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba have all been rested for the bulk of European action and that has paved the way for the club’s younger players to get first-team action.

Gael Bigirimana, Shane Ferguson, Sammy Ameobi, Mehdi Abeid, James Tavernier and Adam Campbell have all been part of Pardew’s European squads and Gutierrez believes they must seize the moment if they are to make the jump from youth set-up to first-team permanent.

“They have to be ready for the opportunities that they are going to have this year,”

said Gutierrez, whose only European action came as a substitute in the qualifying round against Atromitos.

“The young players are better off for it. They must try to do their best. If not, next year will come and they won’t play if another player is brought in. They have to work hard and not let the opportunity go.

“We have a number of young players who are training really well and playing well in the team – Fergie (Shane Ferguson), Sammy (Ameobi), Bigi (Gael Bigirmana), Mehdi (Abeid), Tav (James Tavernier).

“They know they will have opportunities and have to do it right. If they do the manager will think he doesn’t need another player. They must do it right and prove to the manager they can play.”

As well as their European ambitions, the Magpies are also focused on improving on last season’s fifth-place finish in the Premier League, but everyone at the club is under no illusions achieving that will be an easy task.

Last season, Pardew’s starting XI was more or less the same week in, week out in the league, but the squad has had to adapt to juggling life in the Europa League with their domestic campaign.

Performances in the league so far have not matched the standard that was set last season, but Gutierrez is confident the squad will adapt to the challenges they face.

He said: “The team changing all the time does make it more difficult to find a rhythm, but that is football and there’s nothing we can do.

We just have to work hard and educate ourselves to do the right things and have the best fitness and when the manager needs us we’re ready.

“It’s different. It’s not the same when you have to travel in the midweek. It’s difficult to arrive back at 3am, so training days are difficult because it’s not a normal week.

“That’s what is going to happen this season, so we have to learn about travelling and playing and when to rest.

Rest is really important when you have so many games.

“This squad has adapted well. We are doing really good and having good results in Europe.

If we go through you never know what might happen.”