Best has contributed three goals to the Magpies' fine unbeaten start to the season, although his form did not win him a recall to the latest Republic of Ireland squad on Friday. Such is the 25-year-old's importance to Alan Pardew that he was an unused substitute for the midweek Carling Cup win at Nottingham Forest in order to keep him fresh for Saturday's home league clash with Blackburn. Neither Best nor Ameobi, 29, looked likely to play such a key role for the club during the opening weeks of the campaign with Pardew scouring Europe for another striker during the summer transfer window, but the club's failure to get their man proved a bonus for the younger man in particular. Ameobi said: "He has just grown in confidence - that's what scoring goals does for you, especially strikers. "When he first joined us, he found it difficult to adjust. Experience is a big thing and he's continued to grow. You can see that this season. "He's leading the line well and getting goals. It can only be good for the team. "As a player, you want to be pushed all the way, and that's what he's doing. That's what I've got to do to get my place back. It can only bode well for the team." It is fair to say that Newcastle went into the season with some onlookers questioning their credentials following the departures of influential skipper Kevin Nolan and full-back Jose Enrique, soon to be followed by Joey Barton, and with summer signings Yohan Cabaye and Sylvain Marveaux largely unknown in this country. However, Cabaye has started to show the quality which helped him sign off at former club Lille with the domestic double last season, while Marveaux and teenager Mehdi Abeid caught the eye at Forest with fine individual displays as Hatem Ben Arfa returned from injury after almost 12 months out. Ameobi's younger brother Sammy too has excited the club's fans with a series of fleet-footed cameo appearances, although Shola knows from experience how far he still has to go. He said: "He's been doing fantastically this year. He's worked hard. "He's had a good start to the season, but he knows there's a long way to go. He's a bright kid and he's got great ability. "The manager obviously has faith in him, so he can come on leaps and bounds." Blackburn will arrive at St James' Park boasting an enviable record, remarkably having won there on each of their last five league visits since caretaker boss John Carver, now Pardew's number two, guided the Magpies to a 3-0 victory in September 2004. Pardew said: "It's an amazing stat, and I couldn't tell you why. "All I do know is that for us, it's an important game because it would mean a really great start rather than a good start if we win, and that's what we want." Rovers, of course, will head for the north-east on the back of a morale-boosting 4-3 victory over Arsenal, and Pardew is expecting another tough encounter. He said: "They were very good last weekend in a game that could have got away from them. They have got some big, big players. "They are quite direct and that side of it, we will have to cope well with. "They have gone away from the football side of it, to an extent, so for us, it's about making sure we compete on that level and making sure we play our football."
