ALAN PARDEW has paid tribute to Newcastle United’s team spirit as his side became the first to beat Chelsea this season – and admitted that it will be even more difficult against Arsenal at the weekend.

Victory against Chelsea on Saturday came at a cost, with Moussa Sissoko and Steven Taylor suspended alongside the injured Fabricio Coloccini and Rob Elliot ahead of Newcastle’s visit to the Emirates.

Elliot strained a thigh muscle moments before half-time on Saturday, and was replaced by third-choice goalkeeper Jak Alnwick, who will make his first competitive start for Newcastle against The Gunners on Saturday, but Pardew has no fear about starting him. After all, he has no choice.

“It's very unusual for a third-choice goalie to have the kind of aura that he was giving out,” said Pardew after Alnwick made an assured debut for Newcastle.

“He was calm and for me on the sideline, that gave me reassurance. I like my goalies to have that feel.

“He is definitely winning the cool award at the Christmas party because he just took it in his stride, and I have to pay a massive tribute to him for that.

“Jak will go in the goal at Arsenal. We are looking at our team and we are going to have to dig deep for the Arsenal game because Colo looks like he has got an injury, obviously Moussa won't play – he was outstanding again – and no Robbie Elliot.

“We have had to do that all year. We have not moaned about it, though and everybody is producing. But you can only do that if the training ground spirit is great and you have a fantastic togetherness and a love for each other.

“It's about love, it's about love and putting cover on each other, and they did that . Fantastic.”

Newcastle were reduced to ten men after stretching into a 2-0 lead courtesy of Papiss Cisse’s brace, when Steven Taylor was dismissed for a second bookable offence, and Pardew was relieved that Newcastle came out on top after Didier Drogba reduced the deficit on 83 minutes.

“At the end of the game, it's just like a Boys' Own story,” Pardew explained.

“We're down to ten men with ten to go, they have got Drogba, Costa, God knows how many on the pitch – I thought at one stage they had 13 – and we have got a guy who is making his debut in goal and with six minutes overtime.

“If someone had said to me that's how the game would end, I'd have said there was no chance we would have won, so it's great tribute to the guys who finished the game.”

Jose Mourinho criticised Newcastle’s ball boys for not returning the ball quickly enough in the closing stages, and a situation where two balls were on the pitch, but Pardew hit back: “I think that's a bit harsh. If the ball goes in the stand at Newcastle with six minutes to go, it ain't coming back, trust me.

“There was a bit of confusion, the ball coming on, we are kicking it away – come on, I don't think that's really where we are .

“It was a fabulous day for us . It's a famous victory – you can't say anything other than that – and I am absolutely overjoyed for the staff and for the players at this football club, and for our fans because at times , I thought they were very patient with us, particularly when Chelsea were dominating the play for large periods.”

Pardew revealed that Alnwick had criticised his manager for not sending him out on loan this season, and conceded that the 21-year-old, the younger brother of former Sunderland stopper Ben, had a point.

“Jak is an interesting story because Jak came to see me before Tim got injured and said that he was really disappointed in my management of him, that the club had let him down because we hadn't loaned him out but we couldn't because he was our third-choice, so we couldn't put ourselves at risk.

“I said to Andy Woodman, our goalkeeping coach, you have to admire him because he isn't really in a position to bang the door down on me at this stage, but fair play – I think we'd won four games on the trot.”