Aston Villa manager Tim Sherwood has insisted that his side are not ready to give up in their relegation battle despite losing 1-0 to Newcastle United.

The new Villans boss said that his players have enough "guts and desire" to avoid the drop, but is eager for them to prove that they have the quality to match.

"I saw signs today this team isn't ready to give up. It's not too late, there's everything to play for," BBC Sport quotes him as saying.

"People say we're too good to go down, it's all nonsense. It's all about guts and desire when you're in a relegation zone. We've got that, now we need to show quality.

"I'm ramping up the pressure on them - I'm telling them we can't afford to drop any more points. We have to take points in every game we play. It's as simple as that."

Papiss Cisse scored the only goal of the game to clinch maximum points for the Magpies at St James' Park.