Pardew chasing cup glory

With the Magpies fourth in the table, level on points with Chelsea and only one behind Manchester United, Pardew could be forgiven for rotating his squad for Wednesday night's Carling Cup fourth-round clash with Blackburn to focus on an unlikely push for Europe via the league. But he is keen to instead use the freedom afforded by that position to launch a concerted cup run and bid to end a United trophy drought stretching back to 1969's Inter-City Fairs Cup. "You can only strive for (cups) if you've got success in the Premier League, because the stability of the football club depends on the stability in the Premier League," Pardew told nufc.co.uk. "Fortunately for us we have 19 points so that's an outstanding effort by the team and it gives us a good situation. "My team selection will be very much what I think is needed for the game." Some changes will still be necessary, with Cheik Tiote (knee) joining Shola Ameobi (hamstring) on the sidelines for the Ewood Park trip and Steven Taylor a doubt with a broken nose. But the latter's fellow defender and namesake Ryan, who scored in the second-round win over Scunthorpe, insists any available players will be desperate to feature. "The lads are chomping at the bit to get a piece of the action because everyone wants to be involved when things are going well," he said. "We all know that whoever plays on Wednesday has to put in a good shift because it's not easy to get into the starting XI these days. Whoever plays, I'm sure they'll want to impress." United face a Blackburn side who, in contrast to Newcastle, are bottom of the league with only one win from nine games and whose manager, Steve Kean, has come under intense pressure from his own side's fans this season. Pardew is wary of the potential threat as Rovers seek a result to kick-start their season, and said: "As Mick McCarthy proved with Wolves at the weekend, sometimes just one little thing can change the whole dynamics of something. "I expect Wolves and Mick to kick on from that and that's what Steve Kean will be looking for; just something to grab hold of and to kick on from. "I think it's very important that they get a result so I think they'll be very strong. It's a cup tie and at the level we're playing at, there's going to be nothing between us so it's about desire. "They have an advantage. They're the home side; penalties, extra time would be on their pitch, so it's a tough game for us."