The next three games for Newcastle are going to be massive for the club - and indeed for the fans. Having seen Alan Pardew rescued from the brink of the sack (or probably not, more accurately) thanks to four wins on the trot, the Magpies face QPR, West Ham and Burnley - all eminently winnable games. Yes, West Ham will pose a problem, given their form in the league this season, but if Pardew sets out his team to frustrate and reduce their attacking play, as has worked against far more talented teams already, the game will be there to win. Those nine points are massive precisely because of the run of games that follows. In a jam-packed December that has been made more congested by the League Cup quarter-final, Newcastle face five teams expected to contend for Champions League finishes and the wildcard that is Sunderland. Chelsea are a steam-roller at the minute, and even the most limiting defensive tactics will gal to pieces if they hit their stride; Arsenal are Arsenal and seemingly love to score past Newcastle; Spurs in the cup is an entirely different prospect to the league; Man Utd are a wounded animal and and old enemy; and Everton are supremely gifted squad, even if they're broken up with injuries. And of course, Sunderland like to punch well above their weight when it comes to Newcastle. Right now the club are on the up, thanks to those recent results, but revisiting the table on January 1st - when Newcastle have navigated that tricky month and have come back to "reality" with the return game against Burnley - might look somewhat different from what it does now. Can Newcastle make it through December without losing every game? That's a big question, and one that hopefully won't see a negative answer, because it looks like the month might well be the defining period of the entire season.
