Just a few short weeks ago, the Magpies had set their sights on the top half of the Barclays Premier League table having bounced back from their derby defeat at Sunderland with successive home victories over West Brom and Aston Villa.

However, defeat at Fulham and a disappointing 2-2 draw with Wigan at St James' Park left them heading into Saturday's trip to leaders Chelsea with some trepidation.

A hard-earned point at Stamford Bridge was a more than creditable return for the efforts of Owen and his team-mates, although Wigan's win over Everton last night sent them back into the relegation zone ahead of the Tees-Tyne derby at Middlesbrough.

Owen said: "Listen, we sat in the dressing room thinking, 'We have just won two back-to-back games and if we win on Saturday against Fulham, we will be top half, and then we have got Wigan at home - if we can get six points, we will be in the top six'.

"Then it doesn't work like that. We lost at Fulham and we only drew with Wigan and you think, 'Oh no, now we have got Chelsea away and Spurs and Liverpool coming up', and all of a sudden, it looks hard.

"And then we go and get a draw at Chelsea, so gone are the days where we are looking at fixtures.

"It is obviously a big game and a winnable game for both teams. I suppose they will be thinking the same thing - they are on their home patch.

"But hopefully, we can go there and get the points."

Owen, 28, started his first game since October 5 at Chelsea after shaking off a groin problem, and having scored as a substitute against Wigan, will hope to continue his impressive run of form in front of goal.

Despite making only 12 appearances to date this season after suffering a bout of mumps and a calf problem during the summer, he has six goals to his name, and remains a key weapon in manager Joe Kinnear's armoury, if not that of England coach Fabio Capello.

He said: "In general, when I have played, I have felt good.

"Unfortunately, a lot of my goals have come as consolation goals. I scored three, four, five goals on the spin in successive games, and most of them were consolation goals.

"It is always nice to come on and score and it to be important in a 1-0 win, so let's hope we can get a few of those important goals in the coming weeks."

Owen was asked to man-mark John Mikel Obi at Stamford Bridge in a concerted rearguard action, but was delighted to have played his part in a sturdy team performance.

He told the club's official website, www.nufc.co.uk: "It was a great afternoon. Some afternoons, you really remember.

"It was going into the lion's den, in a way, and we did really well."