IT may have cost him his goalkeeper, but defensively Alan Pardew believes his squad will take on Southampton tomorrow stronger not weaker for a draining trip to Ukraine after Massadio Haïdara and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa came of age in the Metalist Stadium.
Tim Krul will see a specialist on Monday after a scan yesterday on his damaged left ankle proved inconclusive. But in every other respect, Newcastle United face the Saints in good shape.
Sunday Premier League matches on the back of arduous Europa League trips are always a concern, but the performances of the defensive pair has won them Pardew’s trust for the games to come.
Twenty-year-old left-back Haïdara made an impressive debut in the absence of the injured Davide Santon, and Yanga-Mbiwa, 23, looked classy in a first outing in his preferred central defensive position. Both made an important contribution to the 1-0 win that set up Newcastle’s last-16 trip to Anzhi Makhachkala a week on Wednesday.
Pardew said of his team selection in Ukraine: “I only really rested Steven Taylor, and I didn’t really feel that was a case of resting someone because Mapou is at the same level.
“(Mathieu) Debuchy trained on Thursday and Davide feels a little bit stronger so I’m hoping they’ll both be available for Sunday.
“But having said that, I have no problem picking Massadio now after his performance on Thursday. And of course Yoan Gouffran will be fresh.
“I’ll be able to freshen it up with some senior players, and I’ve never really had that luxury.
“I’ve now got the luxury of having four centre-halves, three of whom are really playing well. The other guy (Mike Williamson) isn’t really going to get a chance now because the other three are playing so well
“I don’t see any problem, if say, Colo (Fabricio Coloccini, Newcastle’s captain) got injured, because I could play the other two. I’ll put them all in the frame, but category one is our captain.”
Gouffran is cup-tied in the Europa League, and Debuchy is not registered for the competition either.
With the former recovered from the shin injury he picked up at Tottenham Hotspur a fortnight ago, both will instantly refresh the squad. So too will Santon if he recovers from the ankle problem which stopped him playing in Kharkiv.
