Not since the Bobby Robson era, when the Magpies finished fourth, third and fifth in successive seasons, have the Magpies rubbed shoulders so closely with English football's elite, and their current lofty status has come as a surprise to many. Indeed, few would expect them to remain on the coat-tails of the Manchester clubs and Chelsea despite their hugely encouraging start to the new campaign. However, Pardew insists they are there on merit and while he knows there are tougher tests to come as he prepares for Saturday's trip to Aston Villa, he insists there is no reason why they cannot stay in the upper reaches of the table. He said with a smile: "I took my phone and got a picture of it [the league table] to make sure it was correct, and I will keep that. "There's no sense of us getting carried away - I don't think that will ever happen under my management. "It's about taking that belief into the games. That's where we are and that's where we deserve to be and from now on, that's where we have got to try to stay if we can." Newcastle are where they are because they have conceded only one league goal in their four games to date, and that has been enough to secure draws with Arsenal and QPR and wins over Sunderland and Fulham. But they have scored only three times themselves in the process and while the balance has been good enough during the opening weeks of the season, Pardew knows unless something changes, they will have to continue to keep clean sheets if they are to maintain that momentum. He said: "The discipline in the squad has been the key and our defenders have been really at the top of their game. "Where we sit right now, there is a huge dependence on them at the moment and we want to just change that, take some pressure off them and get a couple of goals here and there - or maybe three or four." That process, of course, has not been helped by the club's failure to sign the striker they had been courting ever since Andy Carroll's January exit for Liverpool, and that had placed the burden of expectation on Leon Best and Shola Ameobi in recent weeks. Chances were few and far between for the pair at QPR on Monday night as defensive resilience helped to secure a 0-0 draw, although Pardew admits it was their good fortune that the promoted side were unable to make the most of the chances they created. However, he is confident that there is much more to come from his players with Frenchman Hatem Ben Arfa and former Everton midfielder Dan Gosling due back from long-term injuries in the weeks ahead. He said: "We know as a group we didn't play particularly well and we rode our luck a couple of times. The rest of our play, our resilience, our commitment and work-rate, was very evident. "We just need to tweak ourselves and make sure we pass the ball and take care of it and threaten the opposition more at Aston Villa, hopefully. "I think they are a little bit like us - they have three or four new players they are trying to bed in and are not exactly sure what's their best team at the moment. "But most teams in the Premier League are still finding their feet a little bit. "They [Villa] have some outstanding individuals, of course, and they will be a definite threat to us. "But we have conceded one goal in the Premier League, and that gives us a good foundation to go on and try and win the game."
