Newcastle manager Alan Pardew insists his team are remaining realistic about their Premier League prospects despite their strong start to the season.
The Magpies sit in a somewhat unlikely fourth in the table heading into Saturday's clash with Blackburn at St James Park, unbeaten in seven games since the campaign kicked off last month.
The Toon also advanced to the fourth round of the League Cup in midweek with a victory over Nottingham Forest.
Pardew has scotched talk of a Cup run or a sustained push for a European qualification spot.
"We haven't really got that squad, I am sure of it, but I look around the building and I just see players in good form," Pardew said.
"But this Premier League is such that one game can knock that on its head, so you always have to be on your guard.
"It's heady heights for us, but we are not getting carried away because it is early days."
Newcastle's strong start follows a year of upheaval at St James Park which began with the sale of Andy Carroll in January and continued through the summer with the departure of Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique.
However Pardew has no complaints about the performances of his new-look squad.
"The players are producing. Whichever player I put out there at the moment seems to have a bit of form about them and confidence, and that bodes well," he said.
"We are slightly ahead of schedule, and that's where we want to stay."
Pardew has also been boosted by the return to fitness of French winger Hatem Ben Arfa, who returned from nearly 12 months out this week in the League Cup.
"It was just nice for us firstly to see him out there playing in a Newcastle jersey in a competitive game, and secondly to see the level he played at because I don't think we expected him to be as sharp as he was," Pardew said.
"I would say he is one step ahead of where we thought he would be.
"It's a great situation for us that we have been playing well without him in the team, so you would like to think he could perhaps take us up a notch or two.
"That, we will have to find out, when he is ready."
Source: AFP
