Wiggett wanting win ahead of Blades battle

The young Magpies host their Blades counterparts on Monday night (kick-off 7pm GMT) requiring only an victory to keep their qualification hopes on track after suffering three successive Premier League Cup Group E defeats.

With United's youngsters situated on zero points with three group fixtures remaining, Wiggett - who joined the Magpies' Academy from Chelsea in the summer of 2021 - vowed to avenge last week's defeat against Monday's opponents following a narrow 2-1 loss at Scunthorpe United's Glanford Park.

The Reading-born centre-back told nufc.co.uk: "It's a really big game for us, a must win game. We're disappointed with the results so far in the competition but we have to try and take positives away from our performances.

"The team battled hard in the game on Monday and we felt we definitely deserved to come away with something. That result has fuelled us to get a result and we've been working hard in training to achieve this."

After undergoing a six-game unbeaten run in the Premier League 2, winning four matches, Newcastle's second-string will be aiming to avoid a sixth successive defeat across all competitions on Monday evening.

The streak has been unwelcoming to Wiggett and the young squad but the 20-year-old defender, who began his career at Swindon Town's Academy, believes recording maximum points can be the beginning of returning to their previous form recorded earlier this term.

He added: "A win would boost morale within us all and will move us in the right direction going forward. We need to turn around our results and end this unwanted losing streak. We believe we can do this on Monday.

"It's extremely important to end this year in a positive manner to set us in good stead for the new year. A win will definitely push us in the right direction."

Spectators can attend Monday's Premier League Cup clash at Whitley Park, with season ticket holders gaining free admission, otherwise it's £3 for adults and £1 concessions.