Alan Pardew is relishing having his two Senegal stars back in his Newcastle squad after Wednesday's 2-0 Premier League win at Blackburn.

The victory at Ewood was Newcastle's fourth win from six league games and it saw them climb to fifth place.

Things could get even better for boss Pardew with leading scorer Demba Ba due to make his return after African Nations Cup duty against Aston Villa on Sunday.

His Senegal team-mate Papiss Demba Cisse could also make his debut, and Pardew said: "That's just going to bolster us for Sunday.

"We've done brilliantly. When the guys went away everybody thought it was going to be difficult for us, and we've had games where it hasn't gone well.

"But we've had two big victories, QPR and this one, and both those victories have been about resolve and diligence and grit, and I think we can attack the second half of the season.

"We find ourselves fifth above Arsenal and Liverpool. It's incredible really but we're safe as well, and that's the big barrier.

"We must never get away from that, the type of club we are, get that under your belt first, which we have, so now we have the games we've got left to let our hair down and see what we can do."

Pardew was quick to acknowledge the contribution of keeper Tim Krul, who saved David Dunn's penalty on Wednesday night among a number of important stops.

"I thought his body language and demeanour on the pitch suggested confidence and it was no surprise he saved the penalty," Pardew said of the Dutchman.

"In the second half, when the balls were coming in the box, he punched at the right time, he caught at the right time to relieve the pressure. He was a key player in our victory."