ALAN PARDEW has a number of injury concerns ahead of a trip to Tottenham where he hopes Newcastle United will finally climb out of the Premier League’s bottom three.

The Magpies head for White Hart Lane on Sunday on the back of securing a first league win of the season courtesy of last Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Leicester.

But a failure to build on that will mean Newcastle - facing a run of games against Tottenham and Liverpool either side of a Capital One Cup date at Manchester City – remain in the relegation zone with the ten game mark approaching.

Pardew said: “It's important because you don't want to be in that area. It brings extra pressure, of course, and the spotlight is on you whichever those teams are.

“But I have to say, the Premier League is very, very strong this year and any wins that I've seen, apart from a few, have been very, very close, and a there's been a lot of good standard of play right through the division.

“That's why it's important to get a real run of games where you get a good run and you get yourselves away from the bottom where we are.”

Pardew fears he will be without striker Papiss Cisse at Tottenham. The Senegal striker has struggled with a knee problem this week and that is a significant blow to a manager who has been boosted by the front-man’s recent goal return.

Emmanuel Riviere, who has struggled since his £6m switch from Monaco, is in contention once more, but there are also other injury worries and teenage winger Rolando Aarons will not be rushed back for the trip to London despite recovering from a hamstring problem.

Pardew said: “We have not got a crisis, but we have one or two we are kind of waiting for – Riviere, is he going to be available? Papiss, Cheick Tiote – and I'm not really going to be clear on any of that until tomorrow (Saturday). But we have got players in the group to cope if they don't make it.

“Rolando, I think, will be back shortly. Davide Santon is some time away. But Ryan Taylor should return this week, and I think if that's not an inspirational story to everybody here and everybody in football, because this is a guy who has had terrible, terrible bad luck with cruciate injuries, and has come back again.”