NEWCASTLE travel to Stoke tonight looking to leapfrog Chelsea to claim third position in the Premier League with talismanic defender Steven Taylor claiming off-field unity has been the key to the club's on-field success.

The Magpies might have suffered their first defeat of the season in Wednesday's Carling Cup tie with Blackburn, but they remain unbeaten in the league and a point at the Britannia Stadium would be enough to take them into the top three with more than a quarter of the season played.

Such a scenario would have been difficult to foresee at the start of the campaign, but it isn't just Newcastle's league position that is confounding expectation.

The team spirit that was supposed to have disappeared following the summer exit of Kevin Nolan, Joey Barton and Jose Enrique is repeatedly apparent, while at boardroom level, some of the vitriol directed at owner Mike Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias has dissipated in the wake of a resolution to an ongoing bonus row and a well-received cut-price season-ticket offer.

The 'crisis club' tag has disappeared, and while it is never a good idea to get too complacent when it comes to Newcastle United, it is possible to discern a rare sense of equilibrium on the banks of the Tyne.

“We know that when everyone is pulling in the same direction, this club can be a powerful force,” said Taylor, who will play in a protective face mask tonight after breaking his nose in the most recent league win over Wigan. “You can feel it everywhere.

“When you look back to the start of the season, it was difficult. There was a separation between the squad and the chairman (Llambias), but the main focus now is that he's been on our side from day one.

“He sorted out the bonus problem, he leaves the gaffer to do his job and there's been no hassles, nothing at all. We've been for meals when the chairman has come along, and he ate with us after we'd been paintballing. That just shows the togetherness we now have as a club.

“We're back to where we should be. The dressing room has always been very strong, but you can't be split in different areas of the club. And at Newcastle in particular, you can't be split. The amount of times things have been leaked over the years, but everything feels like how it should be now.

“The staff are getting involved with the players, coming into the dressing room to have a bit of banter with the lads, it hasn't really happened before.”

From the players' perspective, Llambias' bonus climbdown was clearly a key catalyst in rebuilding a fractured relationship, and perhaps it is no coincidence that detente was achieved after two of the dressing room's most fractious agitators moved on.

In their wake, there is none of the dissent that bubbled below the surface last season, and with the squad so obviously content, it has even been possible for Newcastle's fanbase to soften some of the harsher criticisms they have previously levelled at the board.

It would be wrong to say Ashley and Llambias have won them over, but the anti-Ashley chants have been conspicuous by their absence in recent weeks, and Alan Pardew feels it is crucial the fans have bought into the new sense of unity that is emerging.

In particular, the Newcastle boss is especially pleased with the way in which the supporters have gradually embraced the shifting emphasis towards purchasing hungry, unproven players rather than the highly-paid superstars they have worshipped in the past.

“It's important because the more experience you get as a manager, the more you understand the trust you get from the terraces is the key element to success,” said the Newcsatle boss. “If they don't trust the manager, the team, the players, if they think we're all pulling the wool over their eyes or we're not committed to the task, they won't forgive us and when you get a defeat it will escalate that feeling.

“There is trust from the terraces about what we're doing, we're trying to win every possible game and therefore they'll trust you if they see that effort and commitment.

“That unity thing is a trust thing. I think the chairman and the board trust me, I trust my players and I think the fans trust the players. That rolls on. The season-ticket offer all goes hand in hand with that. It's momentum and that momentum carries you through.”

Having made five changes for Wednesday's defeat at Ewood Park, Pardew will revert to his preferred Premier League line-up tonight.

Steven Taylor replaces James Perch at centre-half, while Ryan Taylor is expected to dislodge Davide Santon at left-back. Leon Best returns to partner Demba Ba in attack, with Gabriel Obertan expected to get the nod ahead of Sylvain Marveaux on the right flank.

The biggest doubt surrounds Cheik Tiote, but the Ivory Coast international will be given every opportunity to prove his fitness after injuring his knee against Wigan. If he fails to make it, Danny Guthrie will deputise alongside Yohan Cabaye.