NEWCASTLE UNITED head to one of their unhappiest hunting grounds in the Premier League this afternoon, with even Alan Pardew admitting it is hard to explain the club’s abysmal record at Southampton.

The Magpies have won on just two of their last 20 visits to the Saints, with their victories coming courtesy of Stephen Carr’s winner in September 2004 and an excellent FA Cup display that resulted in a 3-0 victory eight months earlier.

Beyond that, the story has been one of considerable pain, with Matthew Le Tissier regularly putting Newcastle to the sword at The Dell and the misery continuing in the wake of Southampton’s switch to their new stadium at St Mary’s.

Last season’s 4-0 defeat witnessed one of the Magpies’ worst performances of the campaign, with Pardew hauling off both Hatem Ben Arfa and Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa at half-time, ironically the two players who departed the club on loan at the end of last month.

“Going back to your old club, you don’t to get beaten like we were last year,” said Pardew, who managed Southampton for 13 months between 2009-10. “ I’d say that was one of the worst performances of my time here. We were soundly beaten, and were also beaten the time before that too.

“We’re a funny team against Southampton – we’ve done very well at home, but never really started well away from home. I think the start is the key down there – they’re a team that when they get their tails up, they can really boss you.

“They dominated things last week (against West Ham) – bossed possession and bossed the game. We need to make sure we get a good grip of things, and if we can do that, I think we can upset them because they’ve not been brilliant in every game.”

Southampton have sold Rickie Lambert, Adam Lallana, Luke Shaw, Calum Chambers and Dejan Lovren since last year’s game, as well as losing their manager, Mauricio Pochettino, but suggestions of a collapse at the start of the current campaign have proved unfounded.

Ronald Koeman’s new-look side have won two of their opening four fixtures in all competitions, with summer signings Graziano Pelle and Dusan Tadic looking increasingly at home in their new surrounds.

“They look slightly different,” said Pardew. “The new manager is trying to put his own tilt on the tactics and the way they play.

“Their forward line has changed dramatically, but they have good players and players we know well. We know Pelle because we scouted (Daryl) Janmaat (in Holland) so we saw him many times. He’s a good player.

“(Morgan) Schneiderlin is very important to them, and it’ll be important that we control the game. When they won at West Ham, they had too much control, and that’s something we want to take away from them.”