Two wins in the space of six days have Newcastle insisting they can still make an improbable run at the NRL top eight.

Having seemingly dropped out of the race for finals courtesy of a five-match losing streak, the Knights made it back-to-back wins with Saturday night’s 20-12 victory over Parramatta.

They will finish the weekend four points outside the finals spots, but despite a run home which includes two games against Manly, a trip to Auckland and Townsville plus a meeting with high-flying Canterbury, five-eight Jarrod Mullen said the club had not given up hope of playing in September.

“When we were losing five in a row there we were getting questions ‘have we given up on the season?’,” Mullen said.

“That’s just ridiculous.

“We’re training hard out there every day to get into the top eight.

“I don’t know where we are on the ladder but we’re probably only a couple of points out there.

“If we can string a couple more together we’re back in there with a fight.”

They will have to do it without Kade Snowden for at least a fortnight after he suffered a suspected strained medial ligament, his absence compounded by the fact the Knights released Richie Fa’aoso to Melbourne last week.

But Mullen said confidence in the camp was on the rise.

“We haven’t gone back-to-back all year so it’s a good confidence builder for our team to know that we can put two good performances together and hopefully keep it rolling next week,” Mullen said.