Alan Pardew confident of Newcastle's league survival

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Pardew responds to 'complete rubbish'

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew says his team can stay in the Premier League after earning a point at West Ham.

A goalless draw kept his side three points above 18th-placed Wigan, and a point above Sunderland, although both teams have a game in hand.

But Pardew said his team were still in a strong position as they travel to QPR before hosting Arsenal on the last day.

"We have got two games and we have to try to take six points and if we can, I think that will be enough," he said.

"We have to push for both wins - we can't accept anything else and that's what we will do."

Pardew added: "Wigan still have to beat Swansea and then they have to win another game. They have Villa at home and Arsenal away so it's still difficult for them."

The Latics are renowned for getting out of relegation trouble but have an FA Cup final against Manchester City between the Swansea and Arsenal games, before hosting relegation rivals Aston Villa on the last day of the season.

Newcastle, though, are winless in their last four Premier League games and, after a 6-0 defeat by Liverpool, Pardew had to deny reports of a player rift which he called "complete rubbish".

At West Ham, he claimed his side were denied a first-half goal when Papiss Cisse's shot was cleared off the line by Winston Reid, with the Magpies boss arguing the ball had gone in.

Pardew said: "The players needed to show a lot of what was said this week was complete rubbish and we showed that. We had good unity and spirit in the team and we should have had a goal, it was touch and go but it should have been given.

"I thought it was in, just purely by the reaction of the players, particularly the West Ham players, but the linesman slipped so he couldn't see it - so it was in the hands of the referee and he didn't want to give that today.

" I think if we had have taken the lead, it would have bolstered our confidence and we could have gone on and won."

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