Newcastle have failed to follow up last season's form, which saw them end the season in fifth, and they go into Saturday's Premier League clash with fellow strugglers Reading five points ahead of their 19th-placed opponents.
Pardew, who used to manage the Royals, knows the game will be huge for both sides, but he is full of belief in his squad's quality if he can get them all on the pitch at the same time.
"It's an important game for us and Reading," Pardew said. "I still think you need that magic 40 points and that will be more than enough. We're capable of getting that.
"People talk about a six-pointer and all that but this actually is between us two clubs and we can't hide from that.
"We need to get that distance between us and then strengthen and all of a sudden we will look a lot more rosy than we do sitting here today.
"Momentum is very important and Southampton and Reading have picked up some momentum which is a very strong tool to have in the Premier League.
"You believe you are going to win. Even last week, Reading were 2-0 down with seven or eight minutes to go and end up winning the game (3-2).
"It was quite rare that would happen but they had the belief to get something out of it and that's what we need to gain.
"There are better teams than the one I am managing that have gone down. I could argue that QPR on paper are stronger than ours in terms of depth.
"I'm not sure about the starting XI but we haven't had the starting XI out all year. We need to strengthen, our players need to show some discipline and character and I've no doubt they will."
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