Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew has urged his team to defeat Chelsea at the weekend in tribute to the club's former midfielder Gary Speed.

The ex-West Ham United boss has revealed that the mood around the North East club has been low since the news of Speed's death emerged on Sunday.

"Our players will be desperate for us to win to pay a tribute in that way," said Pardew. "We can't guarantee that, of course, but we are going to try. He was a great player here and a captain of this club, and he has been a big loss to us this week.

"The training ground has been heavy, particularly the first two days, because we had a lot of staff and players who don't just remember him as a great player, but as a great person, so it has been a difficult week.

"Even today, it was a little bit low, but hopefully by the time the game comes around, we can at least prepare ourselves mentally."

The Premier League side will commemorate the late Wales manager before kickoff against Chelsea on Saturday.