Grant Hanley has described April as a massive month for Newcastle United, as they aim to secure promotion from the Sky Bet Championship, reports the club’s official website.

After this week’s international break, Newcastle face back-to-back home fixtures against Wigan Athletic and Burton Albion, as they look to return to winning ways after failing to record a victory in their last three outings.

Following that, Rafa Benitez’s side will face a trip to Hillsborough to face Play-Off hopefuls Sheffield Wednesday, before welcoming Leeds United to St James’ Park for yet another clash with a promotion rival.

Benitez's side lead the Championship table by a single point and hold a seven-point lead over Huddersfield Town, who sit third, with just eight fixtures of the season remaining.

Hanley, who has just withdrawn from the Scotland squad, admitted following the international break, Newcastle face a huge test, he said: “We’ve got a month and a bit when we get back to get fully focused and everybody knows what the goal is – it’s promotion. It’s a massive month in the season for us.

“But we can’t look too far in front of ourselves. We can only look at the next game, and we’ll just be playing for three points every week. That’s the target.”

Benitez’s side play seven of their eight remaining fixtures in April, and will more thank likely know if they have done enough to secure promotion when they face Barnsley on the first weekend in May.

Newcastle fans… Are you confident heading into April that your side will achieve promotion? Let us know in the comments!