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Cape Town - Newcastle United midfielder Matt Ritchie believes the Magpies' defence has been crucial in helping them grind out positive results early in the season.
Rafa Benitez's charges have made a strong start to their Premier League campaign, after winning promotion from the Championship last season, and find themselves in seventh position on the standings.
The Magpies have lost only once in their last seven league games and most recently beat Crystal Palace 1-0 in a hard-fought victory at home on Saturday.
"Our defensive work has been very solid. It’s a fundamental element of any good team in the Premier League, having a good defence," said Ritchie, according to Chronicle Live.
"The firepower you play against week-in, week-out in the top flight, you have to be able to deal with that.
"To be honest Palace nullified us too, but we managed to restrict their opportunities and if we can continue to be solid, not concede silly goals, not make silly mistakes, then we give ourselves half a chance because we have got some firepower going forward.
"We must continue to create, the Palace game probably wasn’t a good one for the fans or the players, but we got three points and we showed we have that side to us to grind results out like we did last Saturday.
"But hopefully we can put in a good performance on Monday night, and normally with a good performance we get three points."
He added: "We’re in a good position, we’re confident, but we need to make sure we stay focused on our jobs because it’s the hard work, determination and desire that’s got us to where we are now - and we need to continue that."
The Magpies next face a trip to a formidable Burnley side at Turf Moor on Monday who currently sit in 8th spot on the table.
Kick off is at 22:00.
