7 Players Who Could Save Alan Pardew's Newcastle Career

2. Papiss Cisse

Pinning your hopes on a striker who has been far from prolific in the past two seasons might seem a little ridiculous, but Papiss Cisse is very much Alan Pardew's man. When he hit his two goals against Hull from the bench, the not-yet-fully-fit striker ran to his boss to celebrate with him, and he has come out since in support of the manager. And Pardew will hope that both the goals and the celebration are indications of what to expect for the rest of the season now that Cisse is reportedly back to full fitness. If, as expected, he is given the nod to start against Swansea in place of Emanuel Riviere and over Ayoze Perez rather than beside him, Cisse needs to hit the ground running and show more of the form he did against Hull and less of what he showed in a dismal season last time out. He is undoubtedly talented though, and he certainly has it in his locker to fire Newcastle up the league with his goals, provided he stays onside.