Ameobi: Off-field changes will not distract Toon

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Newcastle United's players are not letting off-field changes distract them from their preparations to face Chelsea, says Shola Ameobi.

After their derby defeat to Sunderland last weekend, Joe Kinnear resigned as the club's director of football, but Ameobi insists the players are focused on bouncing back in the Premier League.

They travel to Stamford Bridge on Saturday - where Chelsea have never lost a league game under Jose Mourinho.

Defeat at St James' Park to their fierce rivals left Alan Pardew's side eighth in the table, but with only one league win in their last six matches Ameobi wants the squad to concentrate.

"As players, you just concentrate on your job," he told Sky Sports.

"In football, there are a lot of different aspects to it. As players, ultimately what we have got to do is concentrate on what we do as a group of guys on the pitch and try and implement what the coaching staff want us to do.

"That's our focus, that's always been the player's focus.

"Obviously a lot of things have been said outside of that, but you just have to remember what we are here for and that's to win games of football, and that's what we'll do this week."