STEVEN Taylor is unlikely to play in Newcastle’s must-win relegation battle against Portsmouth after suffering a recurrence of his ankle injury in Sunday’s 1-0 defeat to Spurs.

Taylor, who was withdrawn at half-time at White Hart Lane, will have a scan on his damaged ankle this morning.

The defender missed this month’s matches against Chelsea and Stoke after injuring his ankle against Arsenal, and while he had been passed fit to appear at Tottenham, the problem flared up again towards the end of the first half.

Taylor was in obvious discomfort in the 15 minutes leading up to half-time, and even if today’s scan reveals no serious damage, Alan Shearer will be reluctant to risk the 23- year-old when Portsmouth visit St James’ Park in six days time.

“We felt Steven was ready to start and he’d had a good couple of days’ training,” said Shearer, who could have leftback Jose Enrique available next week. “But he felt it again and we had to take him off at half-time. He’ll have a scan on Tuesday so we’ll know more then.”

With Sunday’s defeat having plunged Newcastle deeper into relegation trouble, Habib Beye has admitted the mental effects of the club’s relegation battle are beginning to tell.

But the full-back remains confident the Magpies will avoid the drop in the final five games of the season.

Newcastle are currently four points adrift of safety, and things could be even worse by the time Portsmouth travel to St James’ as Middlesbrough, Blackburn, Hull and Sunderland will all have played an extra game by then.

Beye admits the looming threat of relegation is mentally draining, but the Senegal international insists his teammates are capable of handling the pressure in the final five weeks of the season.

“It’s tough mentally, but you have to stay focused on the hard challenge we have over the next five games,” said Beye, who was one of the few players to emerge from Sunday’s White Hart Lane reverse with any credit.

“There are 15 points we can get and we start again on Monday. Mentally, everybody must be strong because we have the points available to us.

“If we get those 15 points we will be safe and we have to remember that. I think it’s really important we stay focused on what we have to do to get out of this.

“It was disappointing and frustrating not to get anything at Tottenham because we are four points behind the team which is fourth from bottom, but we have five games still to get out of this.”

In many ways, Sunday’s performance at Spurs mirrored Newcastle’s efforts against Stoke eight days earlier.

Having started extremely slowly, the Magpies only began to play when they were one goal down, and with a win against Portsmouth absolutely imperative, Beye admits his side must be quicker out of the traps next Monday.

“Everybody knows it’s (Tottenham) a difficult place to play,” he said. “And when you see the goal, we were unlucky. But I think the problem is we only played in the second half.

“It was the same against Stoke, but at Spurs it wasn’t enough because we’ve got nothing from the game. We can’t do that again.

Everybody believes we can still be safe, but it will be tough.”

Sunday’s defeat has made it even tougher, and it will be hard to see Newcastle pulling clear of the bottom three if they fail to beat Pompey in six days time.

Paul Hart’s side will travel to the North-East knowing that one more win will almost certainly see them safe, and with the memory of last season’s 4-1 win at Gallowgate acting as a source of inspiration.

Newcastle can point to December’s 3-0 victory at Fratton Park as proof of their superiority, but the importance of the occasion will nevertheless make for a nervy evening.

Jonas Gutierrez admits a victory is all but essential, and is calling on his teammates to retain belief in their own ability.

“We need to win against Portsmouth,” said the winger. “We need all three points because we are in a very difficult situation and we want to leave this league position behind.

“We have to believe in ourselves and the team. If we don’t, then it is impossible for us to do what we need to.

“The final matches for us are going to be very difficult.

No team is going to make it easy for us, but all we can think about is the next match, nothing else, because we have to win this game.”

■ Newcastle United Supporters Club are holding a roadshow at Forest Hall Conservative & Unionist Club from 8pm tonight.

Former Magpies captain Mick Martin will speak at the free event, which is open to non-members, and fans will get the chance to quiz NUSC committee members about their progress towards the establishment of a supporters’ trust.