Alan Pardew remains confident Newcastle can finish in the top four of the Premier League despite a crushing defeat by Wigan.
'We are still in there,' says Newcastle boss
Alan Pardew remains confident Newcastle can finish in the top four of the Premier League despite a crushing defeat by Wigan.
The St James' Park club were swept aside by two goals from Victor Moses and further strikes from Shaun Maloney and Franco Di Santo in a stunning first half at the DW Stadium.
It was a shock loss for Newcastle after a six-game winning run which had created thoughts of third place and a certain passage to the UEFA Champions League.
If they defeat Blackburn on Sunday, Tottenham could now overtake Newcastle on goal difference in fourth place, while Chelsea would be just a point behind if they defeat QPR.
But Pardew remains confident of finishing in the top four, which itself might not be enough for the Champions League if Chelsea win this season's competition.
Boost
"We are still in there," the Newcastle boss told
Sky Sports.
"Although our result today will be a boost for Tottenham and Chelsea, they have still got to beat their opponents.
"As it showed today, there are no easy games in the Premier League."
Pardew is also adamant Newcastle will not be rocked by the loss at Wigan, who are themselves not certain of avoiding relegation.
Next up for Newcastle is Wednesday's trip to Chelsea followed by a home game against Manchester City on 6th May before finishing the season at Everton.
One of those days
And Pardew is hoping for better luck after defeat by Wigan, as he said: "It will not affect our confidence. Everything went wrong today. We didn't get any breaks in the game.
"The referee did not play us particularly well either. (It was) one of those days.
"We move to the next one and maybe things will work our way."
Pardew, though, did not want to take praise away from Roberto Martinez's Wigan, who won just a fourth league game of the season at their DW Stadium home.
"Wigan were superb," he said. "The players and the manager can take great credit from this victory, because, forget about our problems, they were excellent today."
