ALAN PARDEW will hit a managerial milestone at St James’ Park tomorrow but thinks it will count for nothing if Newcastle United fail to finally deliver a first Premier League win of the season.

Pardew is set to take charge of his 700th game as a manager, dating back to his Reading appointment before the turn of the century, with uncertainty still surrounding his future on Tyneside.

The 53-year-old is without a win from his opening seven league matches of the season and a failure to overcome Leicester City would be the first time Newcastle have started a Premier League campaign winless in eight.

The statistics are being mentioned to Pardew in the build up to the visit of the Foxes, but all he is concerned about is trying to come up with a performance which ends that dreadful run – to try to climb up and out of the bottom three.

“I’ve managed at three of the levels and they have all presented different challenges – which I’ve enjoyed,” said the former Reading, West Ham and Southampton boss. “As a manager you have real ups and downs – there is euphoria and some real dark days, which I’ve had recently here.

“You have to try to show a consistency in what you do. It’s not really a time for reflection for me this week, because Leicester is so important for this football club. All I’m focused on is getting the win we need for this city and the club.

“You have to try to improve. At the moment, the team is struggling. I need to use all of my resources to try to improve it. We’ve worked hard this week, particularly with the players who have stayed here to try to get them to a level where they’re ready to start.”

Newcastle’s struggles have followed on from the first half of 2014 and that has led to growing pressure on him from the stands to resign. Quitting, however, is not on his mind and he thinks the international break has been put to good use.

“It has given us a chance to look at what we’ve done,” he said. “The stats show that we have worked harder than the opposition in terms of our intensity and workrate.

“But we have lacked what you need to get a win. The margins need to be greater. Aston Villa, where we could have won, Crystal Palace, where we could have won – those margins we need to increase. Our offensive play is part of that, trying to look at different avenues to get us the two-goal lead that we need.”

The manner of Newcastle’s performances in most of their league games this season has suggested that he still has the players playing for him. Even when the criticism of the manager from the stands has been at its highest, he has witnessed his squad show resilience and commitment in outings against Hull City, Stoke City and Swansea City.

Pardew accepts he needs to see that character from his players against Leicester – and a first win – or the spotlight will turn to him again if the fans’ frustrations intensify.

“The stats back up that I’ve not lost the dressing room, in terms of the energy and workrate we’re putting in,” said Pardew. “We do need to find that moment. We need to create more opportunities to win games. That’s not just attacking but not giving away opportunities, like we did against Palace, conceding early in both halves at home.

“There aren’t too many times in your career you genuinely feel you lose the dressing room. I don’t think I’ve lost a dressing room before, but sometimes you can be slightly misguided by that because you’re always thinking positively and think people are behind you.

“But certainly there have been signs here that the players are desperate for the win. They are making mistakes rather than not wanting to win.

“There is a psychological balance and we’ve got a lot of pressure on us this Saturday. The focus hasn’t been on us because of the internationals but it will start to gear us as we get towards the game. Again we’re going to have to play under pressure. The players need to be able to deliver under pressure.”

Pardew is boosted by the news that Tim Krul will be fit to play. Initial fears were that he would be missing after withdrawing from the Holland squad with an elbow injury.

Newcastle also expect midfielder Cheik Tiote and striker Papiss Cisse to be available. Both returned last night from international duty with Ivory Coast and Senegal respectively.

Pardew also revealed that winger Rolano Aarons could be fit for a return to action against Liverpool on November 1.