Newcastle United’s Grant Hanley has insisted everybody at St James’ Park is “pushing in the same direction” as they aim for an instant return to the Premier League, reports the Shields Gazette.

Rafa Benitez’s side are currently top of the Sky Bet Championship table, and with just eight fixtures of the season remaining, the Magpies seem on course for automatic promotion.

Brighton and Hove Albion trail Newcastle by just one-point, but Benitez’s side lead third-placed Huddersfield Town by seven-points, leaving the Magpies in comfortable control of their promotion chances.

Benitez’s side are without a victory in their last three league outings and are suffering with injury problems, which has handed Hanley an opportunity in the first-team.

Since his arrival from Blackburn Rovers during the summer, Hanley has been left disappointed as he has been limited to just three Championship starts, but the defender insists morale at Newcastle is still strong, he said: “This season has been tough for me personally because I’ve not played as much as I would have liked to.

“I’m not alone in that, but what I would say is that with the club, all the lads are pulling in the same direction.

“There’s no bitterness amongst the lads – everybody is fighting together.

“The competition for places is making everybody better players, and that’s a massive positive for us because our end goal is promotion.”

Hanley recently withdrew from the Scotland squad with injury, opting to remain at Newcastle during the international break.

The defender’s injury is not believed to be too serious and he is expected to feature on Saturday afternoon, when Newcastle face Wigan Athletic.

Newcastle fans… Have you been impressed with Hanley when he has been handed a first-team opportunity? Let us know in the comments!