Tuesday 23 December 2014 17:36, UK
Alan Pardew says Newcastle must “move on” from their last-minute 1-0 derby defeat to Sunderland and believes the return of key players will help boost his side's chances over the next few weeks.
Adam Johnson’s 90th-minute strike proved the decisive blow in a closely-fought contest on Sunday, which resulted in Newcastle’s fourth straight defeat against their arch rivals.
But Pardew insists his side must now look ahead to the future, and will be bolstered by the return of key players, as they look ahead to a busy stretch of games.
He said: "We have to move on, it's as simple as that. We can't dwell on it. It was a performance that was pretty good, but it wasn't enough.
We have to move on, it's as simple as that. We can't dwell on it. It was a performance that was pretty good, but it wasn't enough.
"We have got good players and good young players, and some big senior players to return.
"We are waiting for Tim Krul and Rob Elliot, we have Siem de Jong, who hasn't played a game for us, Rolando Aarons to return, so we have still got some big, big players to come back into this group, so that's not a concern.
"Davide Santon is getting closer, another player who is very important and technically improves us because he keeps the ball, Davide, and that's something that in the second half of the season we have two areas to improve on, retention of the ball and goalscoring."
After struggling at the beginning of the season, Newcastle reignited their form in October, where they went on an impressive six-game winning streak to climb as high as fifth in the Premier League.
West Ham then inflicted Newcastle's first defeat in two months with a 1-0 reverse at Upton Park at the end of November, which halted the Magpies' resurgent form.
Newcastle stunned Chelsea with a dramatic 2-1 victory at St James’ Park one week later, but have lost four of their last six games. They face a tricky test against Manchester United away on Boxing Day.
With a host of players set to return from injury, Pardew remains upbeat, and will welcome the return of midfielder Jonas Gutierrez, who played his first competitive match since winning his battle with testicular cancer in an Under-21s game on Monday.
Pardew said: "It's been a long, long road with the diagnosis he had, so we're overjoyed. We had lots of media wanting to have a piece of that game, but we're trying to give him some space to get back to his best. He's working his way towards that.
"I don't think he'll feature in this Christmas period, but certainly by the end of January and into February, I think he'll be looking to push on.
"He is fit, it's just getting used to the ball again, seeing a game scenario and getting back up to speed. Where he's at, he's actually physically fine. I don't think it'll take him too long - maybe even quicker than I'm suggesting."
