Andros Townsend believes every remaining Premier League game this season will be the biggest yet for relegation-threatened Newcastle United.

The 24-year-old England international, a £12 million January signing from Tottenham, is preparing for Saturday’s match at Norwich City knowing anything less than victory will leave Newcastle in desperate peril.

Newcastle are three points behind 17th-placed Norwich, with a game in hand, after a 1-1 draw in the derby with Sunderland last time out.

Townsend said: “You could have said the derby was the biggest one of all time.

“Now, it’s Norwich City and that’s the biggest game of our careers. Then it’ll be the game after that.

“We have eight cup finals to come and we need to treat them like that. We need to start picking up points sooner rather than later.”

Townsend and Jonjo Shelvey were part of a £29 million recruitment drive in January, only for head coach Steve McClaren to be shown the door earlier this month following a dismal run of results.

Newcastle staged something of a coup in landing Rafael Benitez as McClaren’s replacement, al-though the Spaniard could well leave if they do not retain their top-flight status.

Townsend is delighted to be working under a manager of such stature, but admitted he was sorry to see McClaren go so soon after his arrival.

He said: “Getting Rafa Benitez to come to Newcastle just shows how big the club is. He’s won everything around the world and managed the best players, so it can only be a positive for us.

“We can stay up this season and we can keep one of the best managers at Newcastle.”