9:39AM, Sat Aug 18, 2012

Newcastle Manager Alan Pardew Says Spurs Team Will Be A Mystery

Alan Pardew: Expects Tottenham to perform well under Villas-Boas

Alan Pardew has admitted he does not quite know what to expect from Tottenham when Newcastle kick off their Premier League campaign against Andre Villas-Boas' men.

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Harry Redknapp guided Spurs to fourth place last season before being replaced by the Portuguese, while there has also been a lot of transfer activity at White Hart Lane.

Pardew nevertheless expects Tottenham to enjoy a strong campaign and is anticipating a difficult encounter.

"They are a little bit different to last year because their style is slightly different, and obviously in terms of the personnel," Pardew said.

"It is a bit of a mystery really what the team is going to be, so we are kind of guessing what we think it is and we'll work towards that.

"But I still think they will have a good season - they have great players and a great manager. It is a tough game for us."

Villas-Boas endured a tough time at Chelsea last season but Pardew believes he has the ability to be successful in English football with Tottenham.

"I think he will do well because he is a great manager," Pardew said.

"I think this time around, he'll prove a lot of people wrong and I hope so as well, because I think he's a really top guy and has great plans there.

"Put those things together, and they should have a real strong season."

Premier League priority

Pardew's own team are looking to build upon their impressive effort from last season, in which they exceeded all expectation by finishing in fifth, one spot behind Tottenham.

It has landed them a place in the play-off round of the Europa League and Pardew admits it will be important for Newcastle to get their approach to their fixture schedule right should they progress in the competition.

He is, however, keen to stress that the Premier League - and trying to keep up the heat on the top four - will be the club's priority.

"It is going to very much be about how we progress in the Europa League - we still have to qualify, so we'll get through those two games and then we'll have to look at the matches and how we are going to schedule them," Pardew said.

"Without a doubt, I can tell you now that the Premier League is going to come first for sure, and we want to try to push from where we were last year, push those Champions League teams.

"We were the closest to them and we are going to try to narrow that gap if we can."

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Barclays Premier League

Pos	Team	P	Pts
14	Southampton	38	41
15	Aston Villa	38	41
16	Newcastle United	38	41
17	Sunderland	38	39
18	Wigan Athletic	38	36

Fixtures & Results

April

Europa League Group D - Thu 4
FT	Benfica	3-1	Newcastle
Barclays Premier League - Sun 7
FT	Newcastle	1-0	Fulham
Europa League Group D - Thu 11
FT	Newcastle	1-1	Benfica
Barclays Premier League - Sun 14
FT	Newcastle	0-3	Sunderland
Barclays Premier League - Sat 20
FT	West Brom	1-1	Newcastle
Barclays Premier League - Sat 27
FT	Newcastle	0-6	Liverpool

May

Barclays Premier League - Sat 4
FT	West Ham	0-0	Newcastle
Barclays Premier League - Sun 12
FT	QPR	1-2	Newcastle
Barclays Premier League - Sun 19
FT	Newcastle	0-1	Arsenal