With the 1-0 win over Steven Gerrard’s Aston Villa on Sunday, the Magpies made it three wins in three to pull themselves four points clear of the relegation zone.
In spite of the gap that has been created, for now, Merson feels that Newcastle need to win more than one game between now and the end of the season to ensure safety come the end of the season.
All the teams involved in the relegation battle have nothing to lose, Merson feels, and are just swinging their racket like a desperate tennis player.
Citing the example of bottom side Burnley, Merson wrote in his column for Sky Sports: “Burnley are dangerous as they’ve got nothing to lose.
“They’re like a tennis player who is 5-4 down and aren’t serving. They just swing the racket!
“It’s the same with some of the teams down there now. They’ll start swinging. They’ve got nothing to lose and that’s where these teams become very dangerous.
“Norwich got beat 4-0 by Man City but I thought there were times in the opening 20 minutes where they caused City major problems so there’s a long way to go.
“Winning three on the trot has created a bit of a gap, but we’ve seen how things can change so quickly and there’s a lot of matches still to play.
“If Newcastle only win one game between now and the end of the season, they’re getting relegated.”
Eddie Howe’s side are one point adrift of 16th placed Everton though they have played a game more.
