Football
9y

Newcastle players anticipating Tottenham match like trip to 'funfair'

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has compared his players' anticipation for their Capital One Cup quarterfinal showdown with Tottenham to what it felt like before a trip to the "funfair".

The Magpies head for White Hart Lane on Wednesday evening looking for a first semifinal appearance since they reached the last four in the FA Cup in 2004-05 and are buoyed by a run of just two defeats in 11 outings in all competitions since September.

Even injuries and suspensions have not dampened hopes on Tyneside after Pardew's men dispensed with Manchester City on their own pitch in the fourth round.

The 53-year-old said: "There is a spring in the step. There are people wondering if they are playing, and what a chance this is.

"It's like going to funfair, I guess, when you are young. You are really looking forward to it because it's going to be exciting, and that's the sense you get."

The Newcastle hierarchy, of course, has made little secret of its concentration on the league rather than the cups, although the waters are muddied for Pardew this week as he attempts to send out a side capable of preserving his ambition to lift a first piece of major silverware for the club since 1969, while at the same time keeping enough in reserve for their weekend fixture.

As chance would have it, that next game sees arch-rivals Sunderland head for St James' Park on Sunday looking for a fourth successive derby victory, although the Magpies manager insists progression in the cup and cathartic derby success are not mutually exclusive.

Pardew, whose men have won at Crystal Palace and City in the last two rounds, said: "We have done well to get ourselves into this position. We have done well in the league, so that sets up that game [the derby] nicely.

"We had two fantastic results in the cup, beating two Premier League sides just to get to where we are. We are now going to try and take this opportunity. It's about grasping it.

"I have played in quarterfinals before and there is just extra meaning to it. You just sense it. You are close, you are eight teams away.

"I can feel the squad bubbling under in terms of the excitement and looking forward to the two games.

"Look, the derby is a Premier League game and an important one. We are all aware of that. It carries more significance in this area, and maybe in the football world because of the fixture's history.

"But you know, a quarterfinal of the League Cup doesn't come around too often for this club -- and for Spurs, by the way -- so both clubs know it's an important game.

"If I am honest, it is good to have a focus on something else. I think this distraction in the week is a good thing."

Pardew will be looking for a significant reaction to Saturday night's comprehensive 4-1 league defeat at Arsenal back in north London and hoping for a result which would make up for some of the dark days he has experienced in the cup since his arrival on Tyneside four years ago with lower league Brighton and Stevenage among those sides to have embarrassed the Magpies.

He said: "We are disappointed about the Arsenal game when they beat us with a little bit to spare, but we would like to think we will be closer at Spurs."

^ Back to Top ^