AMBITIOUS Alan Pardew has kicked off a pivotal fortnight for Newcastle United's Europa League dream by warning players and fans: "Don't let our season fizzle out."
Buoyed by the defeat of Birmingham last week, the United boss is targeting a grandstand finish to a memorable Premier League comeback campaign – but knows beating fellow European hopefuls Bolton on Saturday is key to keeping their season “alive”.
Aware that some might view the visit of Owen Coyle’s in-form side as nothing more than a battle between two mid-table sides, Pardew is teasing talk of a European challenge to put the Trotters contest in context.
While that might sound ambitious – indeed United’s stated first aim is to preserve their Premier League status – it will definitely be on the agenda if United, who face struggling Everton in a fortnight, manage to secure back-to-back successes at St James’ Park.
To achieve that, Pardew is appealing to supporters to recreate the superb second-half atmosphere that helped the Magpies complete an incredible comeback from 4-0 down to claim a 4-4 draw against Arsenal earlier this month.
“The game is pivotal,” Pardew said of the Bolton clash. “It is pivotal because we won an away game which gave us five away wins – the best in the league – but now we need to improve our home form. We’ve got games now where we have the opportunity to do that.
“(Bolton) is a big, big game even though many will view it is as a game between two mid-table sides. But they will be in the same mood as us. This game is pivotal in terms of attacking the top ten. If we win this we can attack the top ten – if we don’t win this game then we’ve lost a big opportunity and the opportunity might be Europe.
“We’re on the verge of something exciting – these two games will decide whether we’ve got something to go for or we’re going to have a season where we’re just seeing things out. I don’t want that to happen.
“This (Bolton) is to keep the season alive – and I think we need the help of the fans to do that.” A bullish Pardew has clearly sensed that momentum is behind United after a worrying few weeks in the wake of the Andy Carroll sale.
