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Daryl Murphy says that there can be “no excuses” for Newcastle United’s below-par display against Fulham.

After picking up an impressive seven points on the road against Brighton, Huddersfield and Reading it looked like an automatic promotion place was almost in the bag.

But a bad weekend for United not only resulted in a defeat against the Cottagers, but also wins for the Terriers and Chris Hughton’s Albion, meaning the gap at the top has been cut down to just six points - and Huddersfield have a game in hand.

Newcastle’s fate remains in their own hands, but Murphy knows United can’t afford more off days like the Fulham loss.

He told the Chronicle: “It is tough but we can’t be making excuses.

“Everybody has to play the same amount of games during the season at some stage.

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“It was tough and against the teams just below us which made it even harder.

“But we got three good away results.

“We need to be coming back here on our home turf and dominating teams.”

Fulham knew they had to win at St James’ Park to stay in touch with the play-off places.

The victory for Slavisa Jokanovic’s side means they will climb into the top six at the expense of faltering Sheffield Wednesday if they beat Blackburn Rovers tomorrow night.

Murphy, a seasoned Championship campaigner with Ipswich, said: “It is hard.

“Everybody is fighting for something in the league whether it’s staying up or trying to sneak into the play-offs.

“There are a lot of teams trying to do that.

“There are no easy games in this league - I said that when I signed and I’ll say it again.

“Every game is tough. You see some results and they are crazy results. We have to show anybody respect.

“That’s anybody we play against and at the end of the day we are at home and we should be winning.”

Murphy did have the St James’ crowd on their feet at one stage on Saturday when he expertly clipped the ball home from outside the box to pull a goal back.

Speaking about the fans this weekend, Murphy said: “They have been brilliant throughout the season - home and away.

“When we scored it gave the crowd a bit of a lift.

“It was just a shame we couldn’t go on and nick another one.

“Who knows what might have happened then, they would obviously panic a bit, but it wasn’t to be.

“It was disappointing. You want to come on and try to make something happen or score a goal.

“We didn’t really threaten after that which was disappointing.

“I scored but it counted for nothing and we still got beat.

Murphy now finds himself pushing for a start in next weekend’s clash at Birmingham with St Andrew’s a ground he has found memories of after netting his first goal for the club in the FA Cup third round game with the Blues back in January.

When asked if the strike could be an omen, he said: “Hopefully it is, but we have to get back to the training ground this week and make sure we put it right.”