Alan Pardew realises Chris Hughton is a much-loved figure on Tyneside but the Newcastle boss insists the Magpies' support know where their loyalties lie.

Hughton stabilised a club in freefall during his spell at St James' Park before Pardew replaced the Norwich boss and his predecessor accepts Hughton deserves to be feted.

'When a manager comes back who has been loved like Chris, we should pay him our respects. Our fans will do that,' said Pardew. 'The most important thing is that they back us, regardless of how much they love Chris, it's about us winning. Make no mistake that will be my view on the sidelines.

'Chris is a great manager. Norwich have a great spirit, which they showed in the second half (against West Ham). They're a team that can really upset you. We've got to make sure we're at the top of our game and defend very well because they've got a threat on the break.'

Pardew, pictured, is wary of any complacency after impressive Premier League wins over Chelsea and Tottenham prior to the international break allied to the return of key men from recent injury lay-offs.

'We've got Colo (Fabricio Coloccini) and also Steven Taylor and Sadio (Massadio Haidara) available, so there's real competition in the back four, which I didn't have two or three weeks ago,' he said. 'The picture is great today, but the picture needs to be really, really good on Tuesday with three league points in the bag. It's no good me talking it up. My message to the fans is not to be complacent as well and think we're going to win. They need to give us the backing that they can. If we can respond to that we'll find ourselves in a good position.'

Pardew believes his ninth-placed Magpies have the potential to push on to even greater heights.

'We've got ourselves in a poised position - now we need to capitalise on that, something we've not done well in the last 18 months,' he said. 'Going back two years, we were capitalising on these positions. If we win we can put ourselves right in the mix. For us, it's a great opportunity and we don't want to pass on those opportunities. They don't come around very often in the Premier League. We've got a home game against a side that are off the back of a win.

'If we get ourselves in a good place with 50,000 – and I expect a full house here – that's going to be a big advantage and we need to make sure we carry that through.'