NEWCASTLE UNITED defender Steven Taylor has warned Everton they will encounter an equally indomitable team spirit at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Alan Pardew’s side have made a hugely impressive start to the season despite losing a clutch of players in recent times.

Monday’s 3-1 win at Stoke City, courtesy of a Demba Ba hat-trick, lifted the undefeated Magpies up to third in the Premier League table, one point behind Manchester United.

Newcastle continue to defy the pundits who had tipped them to struggle having lost the likes of Andy Carroll, Jose Enrique, Kevin Nolan and Joey Barton in the last year.

However, far from affecting morale, those high-profile departures appear to have galvanised the dressing room as, with some shrewd additions in the summer, Newcastle have gone from strength to strength.

And crucially Pardew has them playing as a team, an attitude typified at the Britannia Stadium where winger Jonas Gutierrez spent more time helping out in defence than attacking in order to combat Stoke’s threat from wide areas.

“The forwards are running around to make it difficult for balls to come into midfield and the wingers were a massive part,” said Taylor, who played with a face mask protecting a broken nose.

“We knew if Jonas and Gabriel Obertan were on fire, running up and down and getting the ball in, we were going to cause them problems.

“We are just playing as a team, that is all we are doing. We can’t afford to carry one person because we are a small squad and it has shown because everyone has pulled their weight.”