Pardew praises Toon character

Boss wants Newcastle to push on and seal European qualification

Last Updated: February 2, 2012 8:46am

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Newcastle manager Alan Pardew praised the character of his high-flying side as they climbed up to fifth in the Premier League table.

Scott Dann's early own goal and an injury-time breakaway strike from substitute Gabriel Obertan clinched a 2-0 win against lowly Blackburn at Ewood Park.

Newcastle were dumped out of the FA Cup by Championship side Brighton at the weekend but bounced back with a gutsy display against a battling Blackburn team who dominated for long periods of the game.

Pardew also had to cope with absence of Yohan Cabaye, who was banned for three games by the Football Association for kicking out at Brighton's Adam El-Abd, along with Africa Cup of Nations duo Demba Ba and Papiss Demba Cisse.

Criticism

He said: "We had a bit of criticism about the Brighton game and we lost Cabaye, the two Senegal boys couldn't make it, and we still won.

"Great credit to the players and particularly to James Perch. I left him out even though he was excellent at Brighton.

"But he came into the midfield for the second half and we looked a lot stronger in there."

The victory took the Magpies above Liverpool and Arsenal as they look to cement their place and claim European qualification at the end of the season.

Resolve

Pardew added: "We've got such resolve in the squad.

"To get a win on the back of Brighton was brilliant and we can look forward now to the end of the season.

"We've got a tremendous opportunity that we want to try and take.

"We've gone up to fifth tonight - it's an outstanding achievement from this football club."