Newcastle would like to think that their recent efforts on the pitch will push them far away from their relegation concerns. Having faced the very real possibility of Championship football once again, Rafa Benitez will be happy to see the resurgence from his team as they bid to remain in the top flight With a few standout players, Newcastle shouldn't be battling relegation but lack of spending has meant Newcastle have failed to kick on.

Whether they want to make improvements next season is solely down to Mike Ashley and if he wants to spend any more money.

If the answer is surprisingly yes, Fulham's Andre Schurrle should be a serious target with the bags of experience he would bring to St James' Park.

Schurrle, (who is valued at £13.5 million on Transfermarkt) has been one of few promising players within Fulham's team this season, who are facing the very real possibility of getting relegated this season.

The former German international has scored six times in the Premier League this season and has played everywhere from out wide to attacking midfield.

It could be argued that Newcastle's team is a lot stronger and therefore, Schurrle's goal contribution could increase further with more chances being created. With relegation a possibility and that fact he would only have one year left on his deal with Fulham, Andre Schurrle could be available at a reduced rate, a deal Newcastle must look to take advantage of.

After Claudio Ranieri's comments in his pre-West Ham press conference, it seemed that the manager had finally had a change of heart in regards to Ryan Sessegnon.

Indeed, that proved to be true as the Italian selected both the wonderkid and Tom Cairney in his starting XI, with Sessegnon playing on the left of a front three and Cairney in a midfield three.

It's what the fans had wanted for weeks, and while Cairney was still on the right of midfield, it represented a significant change for Ranieri who had previously been stubborn in not using either of the players.

It had its rewards for the first 20 minutes - Sessegnon got his sixth assist of the season to get Fulham underway while Cairney was instrumental in the second half.

When luck is against you, it's really against you.

So that proved for Fulham last night who, for the first 20 minutes of the game, looked comfortable and were the better side, but Javier Hernandez got West Ham level when he essentially palmed the ball into the back of the net.

Such things change the course of matches, and so it proved at the London Stadium as the side capitulated before eventually losing once more.

It was a piece of blatant cheating from Hernandez, simple as that.

While Fulham's defending from the corner was Sunday League at best and that can't be ignored, but we'll never know how the game might have gone should that goal never have stood.

Ranieri decided to change things at half time, bringing on Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa for Jean-Michael Seri and taking off Sessegnon for Lazar Markovic.

It was a strange one - Seri had done well in his first 45 minutes and looked much improved, while Sessegnon had struggled for the most part in the game.

However, his substitutions didn't really have too much of an impact.

Markovic didn't really get up to speed with the game while Anguissa didn't protect the back four and break up play like Seri was doing.

In fact, it only seemed to allow Cairney to get forward and take the game by the scruff of its neck, something he needs to be doing more of as captain

Wednesday night really is crunch time for Fulham.

Southampton sit seven points above them in the last relegation spot with a game in hand, which would rise to ten should the Saints win at St Mary's.

That number will be a step too far for the side and it will pretty much mean that the side are all but gone - it's do or die time for Fulham.

Fulham saw their chances of Premier League survival suffer another blow on Friday night when they went down 3-1 to West Ham United at the London Stadium, and after the contest angry fans demanded the removal of an important man. The Cottagers headed across the capital eight points adrift of safety, but things looked brighter for them when Ryan Babel fired them in front against the Hammers, just three minutes into the match.

Fulham continued to play some nice stuff in the early stages of the encounter but couldn’t find a second goal, and were made to pay for that.

If things were not bad enough for the Cottagers, they got even worse on the half hour when West Ham levelled through a controversial goal when Javier Hernandez scored with his hand, which wasn’t seen by the referee.

Claudio Ranieri’s men conceded a second as half time approached, and then the game was beyond Fulham when Michail Antonio made it 3-1 just before the final whistle.

The former Chelsea and Leicester City manager only took over in the hot seat at Craven Cottage in November, but the 67-year-old has failed to pull the Cottagers out of trouble, and even though they still have 11 matches left, the writing looks on the wall for them as far as staying up is concerned, and their supporters appear to have had enough.

Ranieri has struggled to win over the Fulham faithful, with his questionable treatment of popular players such as Ryan Sessegnon, and with results not really improving in his tenure in West London, the relationship between the Italian and fans is becoming ever more strained.

Many Cottagers supporters took to social media after the defeat to West Ham to voice their frustrations with the manager, with plenty demanding that he leaves as soon as possible.

Here are some of their posts (Ed's note: oddly no mention of Tony Khan!)

RANIERI OUT! #FFC #FULHAM — James Hingle (@Jingle1991) February 23, 2019

Jonny Smith @JSmithy64 Follow Follow @JSmithy64

FFC are so bad the result tonight felt inevitable rather than disappointing. Ranieri continues to shuffle the deckchairs on the titanic in the most baffling way possible. He can't be sacked soon enough. The Olympic Stadium a soulless vessel for corporate football. Roll on Saints

Fulham Socialist@FulhamSocialist
Never felt such apathy towards a Fulham team before. Leave, stay, do whatever Ranieri... #ffc 11:21 PM - Feb 22, 2019

Richard Kaufman@KaufmanRichard
· Feb 22, 2019
Don't think I have been more pessimistic about a Fulham result against a team from outside the top 6 than I have about tonight's game.#WHUFUL #ffc #coyw #surpriseme

Matt Pettit #StopTheGreed@themattpettit
Ranieri’s team selections, tactics, subs and interviews are some of the most baffling and frustrating I’ve seen as a Fulham fan.
The club needs a fresh start now to build for next season.

Mitch Sloan@JustMitchS
Ranieri needs to stop publicly criticising Sess. He will not win any fans by doing this

#FFC #oneofourown
Plan for next season. Claudio Ranieri will not be within our technical area after the current debacle finally dies and a contingency for the Championship is very necessary. It’s written on the walls, Fulham have no credible reason to keep the outfought Italian in employment.

#ffcJuzzy@SaffaJussy
Can’t believe #ranieri hung #Sess out to dry like that let’s make the change now, Parker in till end of season and let’s see what happens next season #FFC #Fulham

PK@fulham1000
Ranieri just get out of my club. What on earth have you done to Sess #FFC

@PeterBurrows5
Get rid of the dinosaur Ranieri, Parker anybody to see us through #FFC