DANNY Guthrie has warned against the dangers of complacency as Newcastle gear up for Saturday’s home game with Fulham, a match that could all but guarantee their Premier League survival.

If the Magpies secure their second home win in the space of five days, and Hull City lose at Bolton, Newcastle’s superior goal difference will effectively rule out any possibility of relegation on the final weekend of the season.

Alan Shearer’s side will go into Saturday’s game in a positive mood following Monday’s crucial Tyne-Tees derby win over Middlesbrough, but Guthrie has urged his teammates not to take anything for granted.

Fulham will travel to Tyneside hoping to claim a place in next season’s Europa League, and with a defeat potentially plunging Newcastle back into the bottom three ahead of a trip to Aston Villa, the hosts cannot afford to relax.

“The biggest mistake we could make is to think we are already safe,” warned Guthrie, who made a positive impression as he returned on the right of midfield against Middlesbrough. “We can’t get too carried away because we have another massive game against Fulham to concentrate on now.

“We haven’t achieved anything yet. It’s great to get that winning feeling because it’s been a long time. Hopefully, we can go out and win our two remaining games, but the first and most important thing is to win on Saturday. Hopefully, that will be enough to make sure we are safe.”

Monday’s victory was Newcastle’s first since February’s 3-2 win over West Brom, and represented a first success under new boss Shearer.

It finally ended a ten-match winless run, and while the likes of Middlesbrough, West Brom and Hull failed to take full advantage of the Magpies’ miserable run of form, a win was all but essential in terms of the club’s survival hopes.

Shearer admitted that confidence was flagging in the build-up to Monday’s match, and while Guthrie insists Newcastle’s players retained faith in their own ability despite more than three months without a win, the midfielder accepts it would have been difficult to stay upbeat if things had turned out differently against Boro.

“It was the most important result of my career,” he said.

“It was fantastic to get the win that lifted us out of the bottom three because we had been there for too long.

“On and off the pitch, it has been a season to forget. If we can stay up it will have been a good season I suppose, but at the same time we also know that isn’t good enough.

“The older players have tried to help the younger ones, but there isn’t much they can do because it’s just as hard for them when you’re going so long without a win. They have to go out there and play as well, but I think they have shown the way with their performance the other night.

“It does grind you down. I think there were more nerves with each game. But we were strong and got the win we needed against Boro.”

The challenge now is to follow it with a similar success against Fulham. Guthrie is understandably reluctant to sound too bullish a note, but with a packed St James’ Park having cheered every Newcastle player from the field on Monday, the 22-year-old hopes Shearer’s first victory will come to be remembered as a landmark moment.

“This does feel as though it is the start of something and the end of a bad period for the club,” he said. “When we came off the pitch, the reaction of the fans was amazing.

“But that is all it is, a start.

We have to go out there again and put in just as good a performance against Fulham.”