United have lost back-to-back home games for the first time under manager Alan Pardew, but in training on Wednesday morning the Magpies' stars showed they have plenty of fighting spirit to ensure it isn't three on the bounce when Maritimo come to Tyneside.

The Madeira-based outfit arrive in the North-East for a Europa League Group D fixture on Thursday night (8.05pm kick-off), and Newcastle will be hoping to pack a punch at St. James' Park and secure their own qualification to the knockout stages of the competiton.

But any grappling on the training pitch between James Tavernier and James Perch was nothing more than play-fighting over a wooly hat, with Perch eventually coming out on top and running off with the headware.

After a lengthy warm-up, boss Pardew put his troops through their paces in team shape and set-pieces ahead of the tie, and capturing it all for this exclusive gallery of images was Club Photographer Ian Horrocks.