ALAN Pardew wants his side to start the festive period with a victory when they travel up to Stoke on Saturday.
“It’s a game where both clubs want to go into the Christmas period with a win in terms of the runs they’re on and for the fans as well," he said.
“The fans have been terrific since I’ve been here. They’ve been making noise and giving us encouragement but we haven’t rewarded them with a win.
“Although we’ve been close, we’ve got to get it over the line. So we’re really determined and so are Stoke because with West Ham playing Newcastle we’ll come out of the relegation zone if we win.
“We’ve just got to look at our performance, put it on the football pitch, concentrate on the game plan and deliver it.
“It’s going to get very tight down the bottom. There’s a lot of experience down there and a lot of good groups of players.
“Now it’s about clubs getting their best XI on the pitch as often as possible, and we’re in a better position to do that this weekend since I’ve been here - which gives me great encouragement."