Pardew targets third for Magpies

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew is targeting a third-place Premier League finish to fulfil Mike Ashley’s unlikely Champions League dream.

The Magpies tackle relegation-threatened Wigan at the DW Stadium today looking for a seventh successive league victory, a run which has seen them climb into fourth and to within three points of Arsenal with a game in hand.

While the odds remain against Pardew’s men ending a remarkable campaign as the closest challengers to top two Manchester United and Manchester City — they still have to go to Chelsea and face Roberto Mancini’s team on Tyneside — they remain genuine candidates for Champions League qualification.