Magpies can still win title – Pardew

ALAN Pardew feels Newcastle United are STILL in with a shout of winning the Championship title.

The Magpies can close the gap on Brighton to four points if they beat Preston North End at St James’ Park.

With Newcastle then stepping up first this weekend, with a Friday-night fixture at Cardiff City, Brighton’s advantage could then be reduced to just one point.

And were the Seagulls to fail to beat Bristol City at the Amex Stadium, it would take the battle for the title to the last game of the season.

When asked if Newcastle could still win it, Pardew, a guest on Goals on Sunday, said: “It’s possible.

“They need to win against Preston.

“But they are the two best teams in that division.

“It was always going to be about who was going to be champions.”

Pardew also revealed he could have stayed at Newcastle United in 2014.

Under immense pressure from Toon fans towards the end of his tenure at St James’ Park, he left the Magpies to join Crystal Palace.

His decision was welcomed by a host of Newcastle fans, but when asked how he looks back on his departure three years ago, Pardew said: “With a little bit of regret really because it was a great situation that I got myself in. “I decided to go to Palace.”

“I had a choice to stay at Newcastle or go to Palace.

And Pardew revealed that he feels his Newcastle United team “lost focus” after finishing fifth in the Premier League in 2012.

The former Toon boss reckons that a clutch of players attracted interest from bigger clubs and this affected the team’s momentum after qualifying for the Europa League five years ago.

The likes of Demba Ba and Yohan Cabaye started to be linked with moves away from St James’ Park after a great campaign.

Pardew said: “Mike (Ashley) and myself thought if we could just keep that team together for another year, we’d be OK.

“We had disruptions from the bigger clubs. “Cabaye was wanted. “We spent all our money just keeping that squad.

“In the end, we lost our focus because they were getting pulled around by the bigger clubs and that can happen.”