John Carver has claimed that this afternoon's visit of West Bromwich Albion is Newcastle United's biggest game in six years.

United head into the clash on the back of an eight-match losing streak that has seen them drift toward the relegation zone, with two points separating them from danger.

The Magpies were relegated on the final day of the 2008-09 season after losing to Aston Villa, and the Newcastle boss says that the magnitude of today's encounter is on a par with that day.

"It's probably the biggest one, in my opinion, since Aston Villa the year we went down. That was the biggest for a long, long time and this is up there with it," he told Sky Sports News.

"What we do have is two more cracks at the whip after this one. But it is in our hands. There has to be a response. We have to put all our differences aside."

Carver's side have won just once since January.