Newcastle´s determination and resilience delights Pardew

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew was delighted with his side’s victory at QPR on Sunday and hailed the effort shown by his players.

Pardew watched as his side came from a goal down to win 2-1 at Loftus Road, and although there were some decisions he disagreed with, he was pleased his side were able to overcome them to secure their Premier League status.

“I’m very pleased, it is a very important game for this football club,” he said. “(In the) first ten minutes we were almost playing with a noose around our neck, we were so tense, it took a decision by the referee (to get us going).

“Their penalty looked dubious and ours looked dubious. But once that went in I thought we settled down on a difficult pitch and played quite well.

“We showed a real determination today, and resilience to get the job done.”

The win moves Newcastle six points clear of the relegation zone, and with Aston Villa playing Wigan on the final day they know they will be playing in the top flight next season.

Pardew was particularly pleased for the club’s fans and players after they turned their form around following defeat to Sunderland in the Tyne-Wear derby.

“I’m absolutely delighted for our fans and players,” he continued. “We’ve had accusations that have been absolutely ridiculous (about splits in the dressing room), you don’t get a draw and West Brom, a draw at West Ham and a win here if you’ve got rifts going on.”

The afternoon ended on a sour note for the visitors as goalkeeper Rob Elliot received a second yellow card after taking the ball out of his penalty area, a decision Pardew felt was incorrect.

“The linesman made that call,” he added. “You cannot see it from that
angle, it’s impossible, but we can’t appeal because it is two yellows.”

The 51-year-old has had to deal with injuries to key players, fixture congestion with the UEFA Europa League and high expectation levels after finishing fifth last season and cited a lack of quality within the club as reason for their struggles this season.

“It’s an unforgiving league,” he said. “The overriding emotion is that we did not
have enough quality in depth.

“If I could put my first eleven out every
week I think I’d have a top-eight team, but I’ve put it out three times.”