Steve McClaren isn't getting carried away with Newcastle's back-to-back wins
Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren is refusing to look too far ahead as he targets a third successive Barclays Premier League victory for the first time in his fledgling reign.
The Magpies have recovered from back-to-back defeats by Leicester and Crystal Palace to beat Liverpool and Tottenham in impressive style to ease, if not end, their relegation fears.
However, having seen his players drag themselves out of the bottom three and into the reaches of lower mid-table, McClaren knows this is no time to relax with Aston Villa heading to St James' Park in even more dire trouble.
Asked where he would like to be at the end of the festive programme, he replied: "I'm not even thinking that far ahead.
"We are thinking of the next game and Aston Villa. It's an opportunity and a challenge, one that we will probably get three or four times over the season, this is an opportunity to kick on.
"Can we take it? Are we ready to do it? Are we ready to win three games in the Premier League in a row, which is a huge, huge ask for any team?
"Believe you me, I have watched Villa in three or four games now and they have got very good players. How they are only on six points, I don't know, but I have seen them play very, very well."
Newcastle's mini revival came after a few home truths were voiced around the training ground after humiliating defeats by the Foxes and Palace.
Keeper Rob Elliot also issued a half-time rallying cry at Spurs on Sunday which encouraged his team-mates to overturn a deficit to win for the first time in a year.
McClaren said: "You can be analytical in a serene way, and sometimes you have to create conflict and there was a bit of conflict.
"But the key thing is we are consistent in our messages. When we win, when we draw, when we lose, we analyse it, we review it, we said what we have done right and wrong and we try to put it right for the next game.
"The process was just the same, probably just a little bit more vocal than normal."
McClaren will be able to call upon midfielder Cheick Tiote for the first time in a month following his recovery from a groin problem.
Villa have recalled Aly Cissokho from his loan spell at Porto, the Portuguese club have confirmed on their official website.
The left-back will return to Villa, although he cannot play until January, with Jordan Amavi out for the season with a serious knee injury.
Cissokho played under boss Remi Garde at Lyon and the 49-year-old has opted to bring him back with Villa bottom of the Barclays Premier League.
Leandro Bacuna, a right-back, played on the left in Sunday's 2-0 defeat to Arsenal which left Villa eight points from safety with Kieran Richardson failing to impress while deputising for Amavi.
Former Liverpool loanee Cissokho, 28, has made 27 appearances since signing from Valencia under Paul Lambert in 2014 but he has made just two league appearances for Porto this term.
He initially joined Porto on a season-long loan deal in August.
Skipper Micah Richards is set to miss the Newcastle game with a knee injury. The defender sat out the last two games.
Garde must decide whether to recall Gabby Agbonlahor to the match-day squad after leaving him out of the defeat to Arsenal.
Source: PAR
