Ki Sung-yueng reveals his view on Newcastle's cancelled Christmas party

Rafa Benitez's players cancelled a planned Christmas party because of the club's position in the Premier League.

The squad had been due to travel to London after Saturday's game against Huddersfield Town at the John Smith's Stadium, which Newcastle won 1-0 thanks to a goal from Salomon Rondon.

However, a decision was made to cancel their festive plans, though the team could yet have a party later in the season if results go their way.

And midfielder Ki Sung-yueng, set to go away with South Korea to the Asian Cup next week after playing in Saturday's home game against Fulham, believes that it was the right decision.

"I think every player in this team knew that these two games (against Huddersfield and Fulham) are crucial games for us," said Ki.

"After that, we’ve got some difficult fixtures coming up in January, so we have to earn the points as much as we can.

"The players are more focused on the pitch than having a Christmas party. We can have a Christmas party whenever we want, maybe in March.

"This is the priority for us – to stay up in the league first. We can delay it until any time. The boys are together. Maybe if we win against Fulham, we can have a Christmas party. I think the games are more important for us than a Christmas party.

"Hopefully, we keep this mentality until we stay in the league. We’ll still keep fighting to stay in the league. That’s our reality.

"We don’t need to lose our confidence, and we don’t need to be arrogant. We just do what we have to do, and hopefully we will enjoy it more in March or February."

United are 14th in the league, and four points above the relegation zone, ahead of the Fulham game.