ALAN PARDEW will this afternoon return to St James’ Park for the first time since his departure 16 months ago, with Newcastle United manager Rafael Benitez hoping the presence of a predecessor does not have a negative influence on the fight to stay in the Premier League.

The visit of the Eagles is a fixture the Magpies really need to win if they want to climb ahead of Norwich City and Sunderland in the battle to avoid the drop into the Championship over the next couple of weeks.

At the moment Newcastle trail both teams by a point, and have played an extra game, so there's no room for slip-ups ahead of final games with Aston Villa and Tottenham.

Newcastle have shown signs of improvement in the last few matches, claiming a point from meetings with Manchester City and Liverpool after defeating Swansea City 3-0 a fortnight ago.

But there is a danger Pardew’s visit to St James’ Park will be a distraction for the players he used to work with as well as the fans, who have been wholly supportive since Benitez stepped into replace Steve McClaren.

Opinions are split over whether Pardew’s exit in January last year was a good thing for Newcastle, but a lot of supporters would love to give him a hard time having been perceived by many as part of the problem under owner Mike Ashley’s regime.

Benitez does not want to get involved, however, and is hoping whatever is served up for Pardew does not affect the atmosphere inside St James’ Park.

The Newcastle boss said: “I will not waste too much time with these things. They (the fans) can do what they want. But after that, they know the main thing will be to support the team.

“I do not think the reaction of some Palace players will be different. They are used to playing away and they will just approach the game as they always do.”

He added: “Everyone will have their own opinion. For me the main thing is once we start, they have to support the team like they have been doing in the past because that makes a difference.

“Our fans are quite clever and they know how good they are, so they know that we don't need to put more anxiety into the players. The reaction of the players, I can understand they are not doing well throughout the season then the fans can be disappointed as a whole.

“But now, because the reaction has been so good, I think all the fans will try to help them and they will not try to put the players under pressure just because they are making mistakes. I don't see the fans as a negative thing for us. It's a very, very positive thing for us.”

If Pardew is to receive a hostile welcome then it is likely to be at the start of the game, when Benitez wants to see his players open up confidently and positively.

He has been impressed by the way the team has responded to falling behind against Liverpool, Manchester City, Norwich City and Sunderland, but he is also frustrated that they have conceded first in those fixtures.

He said: “Sometimes you prepare for games, you go out on to the pitch and you do everything and after one minute, the game-plan changes. I was really pleased with the reaction of the players at Liverpool. To concede two goals at Anfield and Liverpool were playing well ...

“The players were trying, but I was reading the other day about Mike Tyson, who said, 'everybody has a plan when they fight against me, they jump around – until I punch them in the face'.

“You go with a plan and then in the first minute, you concede a goal and you have to change everything, and that is the positive thing. We have reacted really well and the team, the players, have shown the character and the fight that we are expecting from them.”

Benitez revealed Fabricio Coloccini and Daryl Janmaat are still missing through injury, although the latter’s chances of figuring before the end of the season are much stronger than Coloccini.

But the Spaniard is pleased with what improvements he has seen from his players so far in his time in charge. He said: “The only thing that I can say is something positive about them because when players who, when I first arrived, they had injuries, they have worked hard with the physios trying to be ready, trying to impress me in the training sessions, and players who are not playing are still there working hard trying to be important for us.

“I cannot say anything negative about them because since I have been here, they have been quite positive. We go into this game with confidence and thinking if we perform as we did in the last three games then we will win. The players just have to concentrate and do their jobs.”