Sheffield United go into the fixture on the back of a six-game winless streak.

However, Hughton, appointed permanent manager this week, believes Kevin Blackwell's side are a far better team than their mid-table position suggests.

"I'm very much looking forward to it, but it'll be a tough game," Hughton told the Gazette. "They don't come any tougher than Sheffield United, irrespective of their recent form.

"When you look at their team on paper in the last game, it's not too far off their best side.

"They're a Championship hardened team and used to the rigours of this division."

Newcastle, by contrast, go into the game on the back of a morale-boosting late win over Doncaster Rovers, and the announcement that the club was no longer on the market, ending months of speculation.

Hughton went on: "We're conscious that our results before Doncaster weren't what we wanted, and, by our own standards, this season aren't what we want this season.

"A draw against Doncaster would have ended up a big disappointment, but we got the win.

"Sometimes you can gain more from that type of win then you can from a 3-0 win. We were down to 10 men, and at that stage you are possibly settling for a draw.

"Kevin Nolan's winner brought us a feelgood factor to the dressing room. So to win the game after the 93 rd minute is fantastic."

And Hughton believes an end, for now, to the speculation surrounding the future ownership of United can only help him – and his players – in their promotion bid.

"The fact is we can now look forward to the future, on and off the pitch," the 50-year-old added. "It perhaps gives the club the stability it needs.

"I think what we've had is a lot of speculation that has been around the place for the last 10 days. I suppose, at this stage, the announcement that was made wasn't a big surprise.

"There hasn't been that much change. We've worked as normal, and the focus is the next game as always.

"We just have to make sure we do everything right in order to win the next game."