Teddy Getting Closer

Alan Pardew hopes that Teddy Sheringham, who has a thigh problem, will return to action on next week - but cannot guarantee it.

"We think Teddy will be available for Brighton; it has been put back a week because we thought he might be available for this week," he says.

On the defensive front, Andy Melville is closer to full fitness after coming through 45 minutes of a reserve game this week, but Malky Mackay and Christian Dailly are still doing rehab.

"Malky certainly won't be available for Brighton and Christian is still three or four weeks away," adds Alan.

He is looking for a response to the 4-1 defeat at Cardiff on Tuesday and says:

"The players are understandably disappointed and frustrated because it was a performance that was really unusual for us in that we conceded two sloppy goals.

"We chased the game - and looked like we had been chasing the game, because we weren't particularly disciplined in trying to retrieve the situation.

"As I say, that is very unusual for us but it smacks of us trying to improve our away record; we lurched into it.

"Now we have to focus on this weekend; we have a home record that is very strong and we need a performance to ease the memory of Tuesday night.

"This set of players will always give me a good reaction and the disappointing thing is that sporadically this season we have had results that have knocked us back.

"That was the first performance since Wigan, really, where we have been poor and in every other game we have been there or thereabouts.

"We haven't had the rub of the green in some games - but we certainly have to hold our hands up to Tuesday night, and there will be a couple of changes to the team on Saturday."