Is Newcastle’s recent form a flash in the pan or have they turned a corner?

Newcastle are currently enjoying a West Ham-esque resurgence, with the North-East side having won their last three games on the bounce in all competitions at home to Leicester City (1-0), away to Tottenham Hotspur (2-1) and most recently, away to last season’s double winners Manchester City (2-0 in the Capital One Cup).

Manager Alan Pardew was quick to credit himself for the turnaround, cheekily reiterating that he “knows what he’s doing”, somewhat jokingly to the supporters.

But the 53-year-old knows he cannot rest on his laurels for long as the Newcastle manager, as things can change very fast. Only earlier this month, supporters were vehemently protesting against him, demanding that the club owner Mike Ashley removes him from the club.

Impressive results in their last three games have considerably risen morale around the team. The players will be believing in themselves and their manager, and the fans will certainly be on side if United continue winning.

After hosting an inconsistent Liverpool side next weekend at St James‘ Park, the Magpies will have four games that could see them picking up points – West Brom (away), Queens Park Rangers (home), West Ham (away) and Burnley (away).

Players such as Gabriel Obertan (3 PL starts, 1 goal, 1 assist) and Papiss Cisse (2 PL starts, 4 goals) have finally come into form, while goals are being spread around the team. Every player is pulling together, and their recent resurgence looks far  more of a team growing in confidence, rather than fortunately picking up results.

Their 1-0 win against Leicester City was as ugly as they come, but in getting the result, it transformed the Newcastle side to fight back in their following game against Tottenham, coming from behind to win at White Hart Lane. Their victory against Manchester City was even more convincing, with the Magpies fully deserving of the win.

But even prior to the upturn in performances, the form of Newcastle hasn’t been as bad as supporters were making out this season, as the Toon Army had only lost three from their first seven – the same amount as Liverpool and Everton at the time. It was a lack of wins that was more publicised, but now they have finally picked up a maximum three points, results should be easier to come by without the anxiety.

Alan Pardew’s side are now just one win away from 8^th-placed Manchester United in the table. This month, their form in the Premier League is rivalled only by West Ham United (3 games, 3 wins). Good home form is considered the basis for a successful season, and United have lost only to Manchester City at St James Park so far.

Confidence is at its highest for almost a year. The players have dug deep for their manager to get results, and there seems to be no reason why they cannot build on it, especially with a favourable run of games to come. The entire squad are pulling together in the right direction, which could well soon see Newcastle back into the top-half of the table.