Alan Pardew: "There were times last year when I stood on the sideline and there was a fair distance between us and the top sides but I think we've closed that gap.
"Whether we can sustain it?
"We're still going to need our key players to stay fit but we still have players in the background who can make an impact as well.
"As I stand here unbeaten it's a fantastic achievement by the players and the staff.
"We've got our targets which we think are achievable for us in the short-term in this first half of the season. We'll stick to those.
"We go to Wigan and if we're fortunate enough to have a bit of fortune against them and get a result then we will have 19 points so that will be some achievement with us almost halfway to safety.
"After clearing those barriers then you can start looking at other things.
"On the horizon for us is Blackburn in the League Cup as well and that's something that I think will be important to us."