ALAN PARDEW is delighted to see Newcastle United's academy being rewarded for a conscious decision to prioritise the development of local North-East talent.

Having abandoned a previous policy of recruiting teenagers from right across Europe, Newcastle's academy chiefs have placed a greater focus on ensuring the best local players are identified and developed in the last few years.

The policy appears to be working, with the squad that beat Manchester City in the Capital One Cup on Wednesday evening having featured three players who were born and bred in Newcastle - Paul Dummett, Sammy Ameobi and Adam Armstrong - and another, Rolando Aarons, who joined the Magpies' academy at the age of just 16.

Pardew said: "It is nice to see. We made a conscious decision about 24 months ago to stop buying young players from abroad and to focus on the boys that we have here in this area. That is beginning to pay dividends.

"And if they weren’t from this area, try to engrain them in this area and get a love for the city. Those four guys, you could see how much it meant to them last night to play for the first team.

"We think we have got a really good group of young players here. Four out of the academy played at Man City - Dummett, Armstrong, Aarons and Sammy Ameobi - and it’s only Sammy that we have really waited for.

"The other three have sort of made their progress very rapidly. Of all that four, they all have great talent and deserve to be in and around our team. We still haven’t seen the best of Armstrong and he could be the pick of the bunch."

Yesterday's League Cup win followed hot on the heels of successive Premier League victories over Leicester and Tottenham that have helped transform the prevailing mood on Tyneside.

At the start of the month, Pardew's position was under intense pressure, but having engineered Sunday's win at White Hart Lane with two inspired half-time substitutions, the Newcastle boss watched another selection gamble work out superbly at the Etihad.

Nevertheless, he does not want to take too much personal praise for the sudden turnaround, preferring instead to highlight the ability that he always knew existed within the squad.

Pardew said: "I don't think it (his own role) is that important, if I’m honest. What is is important is that we’re winning games again and that’s what the fans want to see.

"I think we have a group that could excite them this year. There is a lot of pace in the squad and it’s about getting it on the pitch and using it in the right manner, which we are doing at the moment. It’s a nice transitional period for us.

"We have had a couple of very good teams here in my time, but last year it kind of fell away for us and we are trying to build a new side. It takes time to bed in, but we are starting to find our feet."

Cheick Tiote will not be available to face Liverpool on Saturday, but it is hoped Papiss Cisse's knee problem will have improved sufficiently for him to return to the squad.