With the Toon sweating on Shola Ameobi’s fitness for the Manchester United game and Leon Best out for the rest of the campaign, Pardew has had little choice but to elevate some of his teenagers from the reserve side to the first-team stage.
Airey did himself no harm by taking his tally to an impressive 11 goals in 13 games this season as United reserves rounded off their season by sharing eight goals with Blackburn Rovers.
Airey has always kept things in perspective and knows he must still get past Peter Lovenkrands, Shefki Kuqi and Nile Ranger.
Phil Airey: “Alan Pardew has given me a simple message and that is to keep my head down and work hard in training.
“It is great working with the first team.
“You can only learn a great deal from the likes of Peter and Shola, and that is what I want to do. We will see if I have a chance this season again.
“The main aim is to continue working away and learning the trade.”