Atsu’s Newcastle suffer defeat to Wolverhampton

On-loan Christian Atsu has told Newcastle United to be mentally strong after losing 2-0 at home to Wolverhampton Wanderers in the Championship on Saturday.

The Ghana international replaced Matt Ritchie on 63 minutes just after the Magpies had conceded the second goal.

It was Atsu’s home debut after a sparkling performance at QPR last week.

"I made my debut but we lost the game, and we were fighting to win in front of our fans, but we have to be mentally strong," he told nufc.co.uk.

"It was great to make my home debut, they are fantastic fans and I'm happy I made my home debut, but right now we have to focus on the next game, which is what is important now.

"It's good to play in front of our fans. It's unfortunate that we lost today's game, but the next game is coming and we want to make them happy.

"Everyone is down after the game, but the manager spoke with us and we have to have the mentality to win the next game, which is important. We learn from our mistakes, and we have to give our best for the fans because they deserve it.

"This is football, and this is what the Championship is about. Each and every day you have to focus and work so hard, because if you lose concentration, you pay for it."