Pardew pleased to have 'outstanding' Sissoko back ahead of Chelsea's visit to St James'
NEWCASTLE UNITED boss Alan Pardew will have two of his big Tyneside guns back for league leaders Chelsea's visit to St James' Park on Saturday as Moussa Sissoko and Jack Colback are both available following one match bans.
Pardew heaped praise on Sissoko calling him Newcastle's 'best player'
Colback couldn't play in midweek against Burnley having collected five bookings already this season and Sissoko's red card at Upton Park meant he missed out on the trip to Turf Moor on Tuesday, where the Magpies managed a creditable 1-1 draw.
Pardew said: “It’s great to have them back, particularly Moussa. Hopefully, he’s learned his lesson from West Ham. He has been outstanding and our best player and actually has been very effective against Chelsea in the past. I know Jose Mourinho will have one eye on him to make sure he doesn’t impact on the game. He’s a big player for us. Jack has been just as important in a quieter way. He’s not noticed by everybody, but certainly our coaching staff know he has done a brilliant job.
“Mentally, I think we’re in a strong position and our confidence is high after one defeat in nine games. We have a good spirit and a confidence that we’re learning lessons along the way. This is a new team. We learned a lesson at Burnley, that even against not the top opposition, you still have to put your chances away. If you’re not going to take risks and make forward runs and threaten the opposition, you will get beat. We need to threaten Chelsea and it’s going to be a cracking game because they’re a top team. They were terrific against Tottenham in midweek.
Newcastle injury list mounts ahead of Burnley test [AMBIENT]
I was pleased to see Loic score because I think he’s stepped up to that level and shown what a great player he is. He’ll push Costa all the way.
Alan Pardew
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“They’ve got pretty good striker replacements in Didier Drogba and Loic Remy, who we wish well because it will be nice to see Loic back at our stadium. He was somebody we loved here. They’re very strong and very organised, as you would expect and very difficult to break down, particularly when they take the lead. They controlled the game against Spurs and are sending out the right sort of messages at the moment. They’re unbeaten, but somewhere along the line, they’ll slip up, Hopefully, on Saturday, we can exploit any weakness that they have.
“Jose was moaning about his strikers, but he can’t this year. He has three terrific strikers where any one of them could play. Knowing Jose, he could well start with Loic or Drogba – I wouldn’t necessarily guarantee that Diego Costa will return. He’s loyal to his players in terms of performance. I was pleased to see Loic score because I think he’s stepped up to that level and shown what a great player he is. He’ll push Costa all the way."
Pardew is convinced Chelsea will be hard to stop this season, but won't go unbeaten in all competitions.
“That’s difficult, although Arsenal have obviously done it in the league and Chelsea went close, but not in all competitions. That is impossible and I think Jose has said that. But they’re making a really good job of it at the moment. It’s as good a Chelsea team as I’ve ever seen and I’ve watched them since I was about 12 so I know them pretty well. I think Jose’s pretty pleased with what he has."