The Magpies head into Saturday's Premier League clash with Blackburn at St James' Park sitting in fourth place in the table and through to the fourth round of the Carling Cup after a seven-game unbeaten run since the campaign got under way. While there is an air of quiet satisfaction around the club's Darsley Park training headquarters, there has been no wild talk of European qualification or cup glory. Pardew said: "We haven't really got that squad, I am sure of it, but I look around the building and I just see players in good form. "But this Premier League is such that one game can knock that on its head, so you always have to be on your guard. "It's heady heights for us, but we are not getting carried away because it is early days." A derby victory at Sunderland contributed three of the nine points the Magpies have collected from their five league fixtures, and that in itself sent spirits soaring. But a real resilience has been evident during the opening weeks of the season to lay the foundation for a hugely positive, if slightly unexpected, start. Asked if there are tougher tests to come, Pardew replied: "There are, but we have also not had an easy start. "Five away games - we have only had two at home - that's been lost a little bit, so even more so, the players have done terrifically." Pardew made nine changes for Tuesday night's Carling Cup trip to Championship Nottingham Forest, yet still saw his understudies return with a hard-fought 4-3 victory to illustrate that the summer upheaval, which saw the likes of Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique leave, has done little to shake the dressing room. Pardew said: "The players are producing. Whichever player I put out there at the moment seems to have a bit of form about them and confidence, and that bodes well. "We are slightly ahead of schedule, and that's where we want to stay." Despite Pardew's summer rebuilding programme, his squad remains thin, and in that respect, Tuesday's game yielded more than one positive with Hatem Ben Arfa getting 70 minutes under his belt in his first competitive appearance in almost 12 months, while there were impressive displays from Sylvain Marveaux and 19-year-old midfielder Mehdi Abeid. Ben Arfa's contribution was just his fifth in a black and white shirt, with a double leg fracture and ankle ligament damage having severely limited him during his time on Tyneside. The France international suffered no ill-effects and his manager is hoping he will bring something different to the team once he is up to full speed. Pardew said: "It was just nice for us firstly to see him out there playing in a Newcastle jersey in a competitive game, and secondly to see the level he played at because I don't think we expected him to be as sharp as he was. "I would say he is one step ahead of where we thought he would be. "It's a great situation for us that we have been playing well without him in the team, so you would like to think he could perhaps take us up a notch or two. "That, we will have to find out, when he is ready." Meanwhile, Pardew revealed that full-back Davide Santon's hopes of avoiding knee surgery have received a boost. He said: "Davide ran this morning. We have had no reaction and we think, fingers crossed and God willing, he is going to be okay."
