TOTTENHAM centre-back Jonathan Woodgate hopes his former clubs Newcastle and Middlesbrough survive their Premier League relegation battles.

Spurs face Newcastle and new boss Alan Shearer on Sunday at White Hart Lane, with Woodgate one of the regulars in a team that has only lost once at home since boss Harry Redknapp was appointed.

"Obviously I don't want either of my former teams - Newcastle and Middlesbrough - to go down and I hope they can both climb away from the bottom of the table," said Woodgate.

Spurs were in relegation trouble themselves until Redknapp's arrival.

"We've done really well to get out of that situation and all credit to the lads for that," Woodgate added.

"The new manager came in and has done a great job, we've pushed ourselves up the league and now, as we come into the business end of the season, we are looking to qualify for Europe.

"There is a lot of confidence running through the side and hopefully that will continue.

"After two months of this campaign, I don't think many people would have thought we'd be pushing for a European spot, the main thing then was to simply not get relegated.

"But when you put a run of results together and the league is as tight as it's been this season, that's what can happen.

"That's exactly what Newcastle have to do now. Any team can put a string of consistent performances together including them. They are more than capable of doing that and getting themselves out of trouble."

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