The Magpies took their tally for the season to 17 with Sunday's fine win at Arsenal, an excellent return from their first 11 league fixtures and one it took them 17 games to reach and surpass during their last, ultimately disastrous top-flight campaign. Victory over Blackburn at St James' Park on Wednesday night would see them reach the 20-point mark, halfway to the accepted finishing line for survival. Hughton has been in the game long enough to know not to take anything for granted and that things could change quickly, but admits reaching that target as quickly as possible is his overriding priority. He said: "I am not sure about the halfway stage, but I would be lying if I didn't say that I am very conscious of the points total that will probably keep a team in this division. "You are conscious of that and that is why every three points you get is so vitally important. "Every three points is a really big three points." Hughton will go head to head with one of his predecessors in the Tyneside hot-seat when Sam Allardyce brings his side to St James'. Allardyce, who was appointed by former chairman Freddy Shepherd shortly before Mike Ashley staged his takeover, held the job for just eight months, and it is a measure of the chaos which engulfed the club in the aftermath of his departure that Joe Kinnear, Alan Shearer and Hughton have all taken up the reins since he left in January 2008. The Magpies have hammered both Aston Villa and derby rivals Sunderland on their own pitch already this season, but have also lost to Blackpool and Stoke, and their manager is expecting just as tough a test as the one they got at the Emirates Stadium. He said: "It is equally tough. You have got a very well-organised team with quality players in the team. "They will come to St James' with a game plan, absolutely, they will come with strength in their side and they will make life very difficult for us. "At the start of the season, if you had told me we would have most of our success against the so-called better teams in this division, we would have gladly accepted that. "But it is common knowledge that you need to beat the teams around the areas where you feel you are going to be. "That's something we have had to address this season, and we will continue to do that."
