Alan Pardew believes the Carling Cup presents a realistic chance of bringing some silverware to Newcastle United, but admits they are in for a stern test at Nottingham Forest on Tuesday night.
The Magpies travel to the City Ground in the third round of the competiton, knowing that victory will put them one step closer to the final at Wembley.
United reached the fourth round last term before being knocked out by Arsenal, and Pardew is keen for his side to progress even further this time around."For us, winning the Premier League is a little bit out of reach, so it makes sense to try and win a cup," he explained.
"That is what we are going to try and do, and it is a competition we feel we can do well in, but Nottingham Forest will have something to say about that, for sure.
"I haven't followed them, but they are a great club with a great manager and I'm sure that things will improve there quickly.
Pardew revealed that he hopes to give Hatem Ben Arfa his first competitive action since last October, following the French international being sidelined by a broken leg and an ankle problem.
"I can recall watching Cloughie's (Brian Clough's) teams winning that trophy many, many times when I was a young boy, so they are a great club and it is always very difficult to go there and get a result."
That aside, the boss is keeping his cards close to his chest, but the likes of James Perch, Rob Elliot and Peter Lovenkrands are all pushing for game time against Forest.
"We've got a lot of players who haven't featured and are desperate to show their wares, so to speak," said Pardew.
"I look forward to seeing one or two of them on the pitch. I said before that Ben Arfa will play, and if he comes through training this morning then he will definitely feature.
"I don't want to say too many more, but we will still have a very strong side.
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