Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew plays down talk of Champions League place after victory over Stoke City

Alan Pardew praised his Newcastle United side's "great character" after a deserved 3-1 win over Stoke City lifted the Premier League's surprise package to third.

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew plays down talk of Champions League place after victory over Stoke City
All smiles: Alan Pardew jubilant after victory over Stoke Credit: Photo: AP

"This is a really good Stoke side," said Pardew. "The way they play makes it difficult and we had to show great character. We showed another side to ourselves: great resilience.

"We set ourselves to attack the game and we threatened on the break."

Pardew played down talk of a Champions League place, knowing that Newcastle now enter a testing period: after entertaining Everton, Newcastle make trips to Manchester City and Manchester United before Chelsea come calling.

"We are not really looking at the bigger picture," said Pardew. "We just focus on the next one. We have an immediate goal: Everton on Saturday. They have one of the best managers in the world in David Moyes. If we can get through that game and go to Man City unbeaten that would be fantastic. I hope we can fill the stadium. I think the players deserve that after these 10 games. They have been magnificent."

Stoke City manager, Tony Pulis, was "disappointed", adding that he felt Demba Ba’s two first-half goals were "poor goals from our point of view". He said: "It’s not as if they’ve cut us apart. In the second half, we came on and knocked on the door, knocked on the door. You get the penalty [for Jonathan Walters] and think we might have got something out of the game. We were certainly in the ascendancy. Demba Ba’s penalty was their only shot on target in the second half."

Stoke now set off on a trip to Tel Aviv in the Europa League. "We’ve got a massive task this week," said Pulis. "We’ve got a 5½-hour flight, then come back and play again Sunday [against Bolton]. It’s a massive ask but something we’ve got to cope with. We’re desperate to get through the group stages to get a top European side here and really enjoy it."