The Toon boss has been hugely impressed by Ivory Coast international during his time at St James' Park to date, and believes he has what it will take to do for the Magpies what Ghana counterpart Essien does for Chelsea. Pardew said: "He reminds me of Essien, if I am honest, he is that type. "He needs to learn that in and around our third, he needs to be a lot safer - he can be a bit loose there - and he needs to be more progressive in his play. "There is from him if we can get him out of just popping it off safely. "When he attacks teams and runs at them, he could be as effective for us as Essien is for Chelsea." Tiote, a £3.5million summer signing from Dutch club FC Twente, turned in a stunning individual display in Sunday's 1-0 Premier League win at Wigan. The 24-year-old's industry in the middle of the park has proved invaluable to Newcastle since his arrival, and while Pardew admits he still has much to learn - he has already amassed nine yellow cards - he is in little doubt as to his potential. The manager said: "When I arrived, I could tell he was a very, very good player from what I had seen on TV, and when I reviewed the dvds of previous games, it just reinforced that. "To watch him from the sideline, his energy and his power, he is as strong in possession as you will find. "Sometimes, he invites trouble because he is holding two or three players off and he gets himself into physical challenges and he takes too many bookings. "But because of the power he has, he has such confidence that he can hold people off. It frightens me to death at times, but he is such a brilliant character." Pardew will hope for more of the same as the resurgent Hammers head for Tyneside desperate to continue their recent climb away from trouble. A run of four league games without defeat, which has brought eight points, has eased them into 16th place, five points adrift of Newcastle in 10th. Pardew, of course, spent more than three years in charge at Upton Park and guided the club back into the top flight via the play-offs before being relieved of his duties in December 2006. He has not been back since, but is determined to do just that next season with both clubs still in the Premier League. He said: "I haven't actually been back to Upton Park since I left, not to watch a game. "I have purposely kept away because when I did return, I wanted to return with a really good team, and I hope to do that next year in the Premier League for both clubs. "This game is important because it's about this year and about both of us making sure we are Premier League sides. "I think West Ham will escape the drop and I certainly hope we will, and a victory for us would certainly go a long way towards putting a little bit of distance between us and that pressure cooker down at the bottom." The Magpies will once again be without injured striker Andy Carroll, although Shola Ameobi took over the 21-year-old's mantle to secure victory at the DW Stadium at the weekend. Meanwhile, Pardew is going back to the drawing board in the search for a number two with Bradford joint-chairman Mark Lawn having confirmed manager Peter Taylor has decided to stay with the Bantams. Lawn told Sky Sports News: "All I can do is take the word of Peter and I have been told he wants to stay and therefore I think that is what he is going to do, he's a very honest man. "In all our dealings he has been very straight. "We're now talking to him about the future so it looks to me we're moving forward with Peter Taylor as our manager."
