IN many respects Alan Pardew and Sam Allardyce have endured similar years having shrugged off heavy pressure from fans to step down to keep their reputation firmly intact.

And as Newcastle United look to make it seven wins in a row at West Ham United this afternoon, Pardew thinks his Hammers counterpart can hold even greater satisfaction for the way he has turned things around.

While both bosses had their fair share of criticism, and the Newcastle manager could claim to have had the worst from supporters, Pardew has paid tribute to Allardyce’s work in the transfer market – going as far as to suggest West Ham beat the Magpies on the recruitment front in the summer.

“I think West Ham signed, pound for pound, the best signings of the summer,” said Pardew. “I think he’s taken the club forward this year in terms of their style of play. With the options Sam has I feel they’re in for a big season, and I felt that in the summer.

“Although our signings have made an impact – such as (Daryl) Janmaat, (Jack) Colback and (Ayoze) Perez – our real strength has come from within – Sammy (Ameobi), Rolando (Aarons), Gabby (Obertan), (Paul) Dummett ... all these guys have pushed up a little notch. But both teams have improved greatly on last year.”

What would frustrate Pardew slightly is that Allardyce’s best signings would all have been on the Newcastle radar courtesy of the worldwide scouting network set up by Graham Carr.

In the end, though, Newcastle decided to pass up opportunities to land the likes of Enner Valencia from Mexican club Pachuca, Morgan Amalifitano from Marseille, Mauro Zarate from Velez Sarsfield and Diafra Sakho from Metz. Allardyce also pulled of the masterstroke of adding midfielder Alex Song on loan from Barcelona.

As well as the impressive performances of Song, Valencia and Sakho’s impact in the Premier League – scoring nine between them so far – has been immediate.

“The interest wasn’t to the point where it got close (with Valencia or other players), but their market is our market,” said Pardew. “All of those players who went there are players we perhaps should have moved on, because they have done very well. That’s testament to their scouting team and the manager for picking them off.”

Had Valencia and Sakho not adapted so quickly to English football then Allardyce, who has been without Andy Carroll until this month because of injury, could have been facing even more turbulent times at Upton Park.

Pardew said: “In the Premier League you come under pressure from time to time. You have to be big enough to handle that. Some of it gets personal and you have to deal with that, you might not like it.

“Sam has more experience of the Premier League than I do. He knows what it takes to win and he’s adaptable. I look forward to playing against his teams and clashing swords with him because his teams always test you.”

If Newcastle can triumph at Upton Park they will have won six Premier League games in a row for the first time since March/April 2012. The last time they won seven in the league was in 1996 under Kevin Keegan and it was in the Championship winning season in 2009/10 when they last won seven in a row in all competitions.

Pardew said: “It is a kind of a unique run we have been on and it has surprised even myself. We have focused on one game, West Ham, to keep it going. They are going to have a big say in this, to make sure it ends there.”

Newcastle have kept five clean sheets during the six-match winning streak and Pardew, who has had to change his back four because of injuries, said: “It has come from the fact the defenders, with the exception of Daryl, have been with me a long time, so we don't change too much.

“They know how we work and we are pretty clear about what we should and shouldn't do. But you still need individuals to be confident and play well; having said that Paul Dummett has been a big part of it.

“For him to come in at centre-back at his age and play as well as he did, and to put in the defensive performances he has at left-back, they were on the money every time he played, has been a big asset to us.”