Butt: I've seen it in their eyes March 20 2008
Newcastle midfielder Nicky Butt has seen the will to survive in the eyes of his team-mates.
The 33-year-old former Manchester United star experienced many of the highs the game can bring during his time at Old Trafford, but also suffered the pain of relegation from the Premier League during his loan spell at Birmingham two seasons ago.
Those bitter memories are something he does not intend to rekindle as he attempts to help the Magpies drag themselves away from the bottom of the table this time around.
Butt's drive was a major factor on Monday night's fightback at Birmingham, which brought his side a valuable point and moved them up to the relative comfort of 14th place in the table.
However, they remain only four points clear of Bolton inside the bottom three and only victory over Fulham - something they have not achieved since they travelled to Craven Cottage on December 15 - will ease their fears and send them into the run-in confident they can take themselves out of the equation.
But former England international Butt is convinced that is exactly what they will do after looking around the dressing room at St Andrews.
He said: "Looking at each other in the dressing room, we know we have got more than enough to get out of it.
"We know if we keep playing and performing like we did in the second half, we will be okay.
"No disrespect to Birmingham, but the quality at Newcastle is much better than it was then (during his loan spell at City).
"If we can stop goals going in the other end, then we will definitely create chances."
Newcastle have not won a league game in 13 attempts and have taken just four points from a possible 39 on the way.
With just eight games remaining, they know they must improve their tally of 29 points significantly if they are to get anywhere near the 40 mark manager Kevin Keegan has set as a safety target.
A win on Saturday against a side which has not claimed a league victory on the road since they won at St James' Park on September 9, 2006, a run of 31 games, is a must if they are to begin that process in earnest.
However, Butt believes a repeat of their second half display at Birmingham, which saw Michael Owen cancel out James McFadden's opener, will stand them in good stead.
He said: "With Birmingham being around us, it was a massive point, and from our second-half performance, I felt we deserved to go on and win it.
"Taking a point away from one of our rivals away from home is massive for us.
"The goal we conceded was disappointing, but we kept going and in the second half especially, I felt we were the better team.
"At half-time, we knew we had to keep plugging away and I think in fairness to the players, we did that. In general, we all moved up the pitch, and defended a higher line.
"It gave us a chance to support the forward lads and allowed them to do their magic higher up the pitch.
"In the first half, we played a lot of football in our own half. We didn't really create too much, but we did after the break.
"We can take some confidence into the next game, which is Fulham.
"I felt we deserved the win, but the point could be massively important for us."