Manchester United forward Wayne Rooney is becoming concerned at the frequency with which his side are conceding early goals, admitting that it could be fatal to the club's Premier League title ambitions.
The 26-year-old striker is getting frustrated after Sir Alex Ferguson's side let in early strikes against both Tottenham and Cluj within a seven-dayp eriod, meaning that they have to work even harder to get back into games.
However, Rooney insists that, with new signing Robin van Persie increasing the quality of the attacking options, the club can still compete for top honours - providing that they tighten up in defence.
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"It does bother us, having to come from behind because we are losing those early goals," he told the Times of India.
"It is something that we have to stop because we cannot keep letting teams get a head-start on us. Hopefully, it won’t happen this time [against Newcastle]."
The England forward has just come back from a thigh injury sustained in August against Fulham and, while Van Persie has hit seven goals in eight appearances, Rooney is adamant that he wants to be on the pitch firing United towards trophies.
He said of the Dutchman: "It is always exciting when you sign a new player of that quality and ability. We are all fighting for one or two places, which is good for the team as a whole.
"Danny [Welbeck] can play out wide or up front; Chicharito is best at getting behind and finding space and obviously Van Persie has come in and he's a world-proven goalscorer who has started the season really well.
"Of course I always want to play. I've already missed some time through injury and I'm delighted to be back. I feel good."
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"It does bother us, having to come from behind. It is something that we have to stop - we cannot keep letting teams get a head-start on us" - Wayne Rooney
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Rooney went on to suggest that, with a prolific strike force, United are now ready to try and reclaim the Premier League title from rivals Manchester City - starting against Newcastle on Sunday afternoon.
"It would be great for us to score more goals because, effectively, that is why we lost the league last season," he observed. "The manager said to us he wants us to try and kill games off.
"It's a tough game at Newcastle and we found that last year when we lost there 3-0. It is a big game for us. We don't want the same result again."