Pardew’s French imports show no signing of cracking under strain of schedule

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew is confident his French contingent can cope with the gruelling demands of an English Christmas programme.

Twelve months ago, the Magpies headed into the holiday period teetering on the brink of disaster having won just two out of 12 games in all competitions since the beginning of November, including successive Barclays Premier League defeats by West Ham, Swansea, Southampton and Stoke.

That prompted owner Mike Ashley to make a significant splash in the January transfer window to recruit Mathieu Debuchy, Massadio Haidara, Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa, Moussa Sissoko and Yoan Gouffran.