ALAN Pardew is hoping yesterday's spirited 2-2 draw at Chelsea will persuade Newcastle owner Mike Ashley to invest heavily this summer.

Steven Taylor's stoppage-time equaliser nudged the Magpies on to the 45-point mark, and ensured they will go into next weekend's final game with West Brom with a chance of finishing in the top half of the Premier League table.

Once his side have signed off against the Baggies, Pardew will turn his attention to a summer rebuilding programme that should see him spending the bulk of the £35m transfer fee that Liverpool paid to sign Andy Carroll in January.

The Magpies manager has already held a number of discussions with chief executive Derek Llambias, which have resulted in him making formal inquiries for the likes of French-based duo Cheik M'Bengue and Franck Tabanou.

Further meetings are planned before the end of the month, but it remains to be seen just how big a transfer kitty Pardew is granted as he looks to strengthen a squad that has performed better than many expected this season.

Yesterday's result was achieved despite the absence of a number of senior players, but rather than tempting Ashley to rein in his spending, Pardew is hoping it will have persuaded the Newcastle owner to dig deeper in pursuit of success.

“I don't think a performance like that does any harm for the owner,” said the Magpies manager, who watched his side overcome the concession of a second-minute goal to Branislav Ivanovic to make it three unbeaten games out of three against Chelsea this season. “It will give him belief that we are doing the right things and putting the right things in place to take the club forward. If I was the owner I'd be a little bit more secure in investing.

“The players did well and I was thrilled with some of the performances, particularly the young players. I thought it was a just result. It was good to see the young players coming in and that's what you want at a big club. We want to attract one or two big players and bring through one or two of our own. That's the balance you need if you want to be successful.

“The next stage for us is to bring the players in to take us on. You've got to give the fans hope and belief, and they will have been buoyed by what they have seen with the young players. But they will also be hoping to see one or two big players come in.”

Pardew included Irish youngster Shane Ferguson in his starting line-up yesterday, and also introduced Kazenga LuaLua and Sammy Ameobi, younger brother of Shola, from the bench.

The Magpies twice came from behind, displaying a spirit and enthusiasm that has enabled them to avoid defeat in ten of their 19 away matches this season.

Much has been written about the team spirit of a squad that were still playing in the Championship at this stage of last season, but Pardew feels that to constantly extol unity and togetherness is to damn his squad with faint praise.

“I think we have a little bit more than just spirit,” he said. “We've got quality. If you look at our two centre-halves today, they were outstanding. You can't get a result at Chelsea without very, very good players. The young players who came in did fantastic, but our senior players were outstanding as well.”

Yesterday's result means Newcastle will be guaranteed to finish above Sunderland if they beat West Brom on Sunday, and will almost certainly finish in the top ten if they claim all three points.

“It's an important game for us because if we can win, we will go above West Brom and to secure a top-ten finish this season would be fantastic,” said Pardew. “We lost a big player in Andy Carroll in January and another big one in Hatem Ben Arfa at the start of the season to injury. We've had problems, but you have to admire the resilience of the squad and staff.”