Back in the game: Pardew poses with the
Newcastle shirt after agreeing terms with the North East
club
Alan Pardew has been
handed a contract for the next five-and-a-half years. In that same
length of time stretching back from today, Newcastle have employed
seven different full-time managers...
Graeme Souness Sep
2004 - Feb 2006
Glenn Roeder Feb
2006 - May 2007
Sam Allardyce May
2007 - Jan
2008
Kevin Keegan Jan
2008 - Sep 2008
Joe Kinnear Sep
2008 - Apr 2009
Alan Shearer Apr
2009 - May 2009
Chris Hughton May
2009 - Dec 2010
Alan Pardew has vowed to win over the Newcastle
fans after signing a generous five-and-a-half year
contract.
The former West Ham and Charlton manager paid tribute to
the work done by Chris Hughton in getting the Magpies promoted to
the Barclays Premier League and admits he can't wait to face
Liverpool at the weekend.
Pardew is far from the fans' choice to replace the popular
Hughton - whose sacking on Monday caused disbelief across football
- and the length of the new bosses deal will certainly raise
eyebrows.
But he immediately tried to
build bridges with the 'second to none' Toon Army and promised to
produce the kind of flair football they crave.
'I am honoured and privileged to
have been given this opportunity at Newcastle United, one of the
truly great clubs in English football,' he said.
'I understand what this club
means to its supporters. Throughout the football world people
recognise that this is a unique club in many ways, with supporters
who are second to none in their loyalty, passion and devotion to
the team.
'Chris Hughton did a great job
last season, guiding the club back to the Premier League. He
continued that good work this season. It is my aim to build on that
now and take this club forward.
'I’m not a Geordie of course,
but I’m a football person with a love of the game and I can assure
you I bring great drive, desire and commitment to the job,” he
said. “I have always managed teams that have played attacking
positive football, something I know the supporters here
appreciate.
'At the same time I intend to
focus on developing exciting young players through the club’s
excellent academy and development squad, and I know the board here
at St James’ Park are very committed to that too.
'I can’t wait to get started and
what better way to kick-off than welcoming Liverpool to St James’
Park on Saturday?'
Pardew held his first press
conference at St James' Park on Thursday afternoon.
He said: 'I'm privileged to be
sitting here and looking forward to a tough job. But it's difficult
because it's fairly obvious the players and fans had tremendous
respect for Chris and the fact he's gone has caused something of a
stir.
Aha! Alan Pardew meets reporters and photographers
at St James' Park after being named boss
'The problem I'm going
to have initially is the players - I need to get my message across
quickly and with clarity so as not to get any resentment at a time
when they are doing reasonably well.
'The battles I need to win are
on the pitch. I understood what was going to happen if I took the
job and that's a daunting prospect but to be manager is something I
couldn't turn down.'
On the length of the deal, he
added: "I wanted to be tough on the length of contract and give
myself as much stability at a club that hasn't had much stability
with managers.
'Managers have come and gone
here. It doesn't bode well so I'm trying to say I will work as hard
as I possibly can here to get a situation where I can bring some
longevity to the job.
'I represent the fans. I'm an
employee of the club but I'll be knocking on the door trying to get
the maximum funds I can to make the club the best it can be. I've
never had a problem with that in the past.
'In the past I have convinced
owners to have faith and trust in me to invest. Obviously I've got
to gain that. I think I've got a good record in the Premier League
but I'm not going to compare myself to what Chris has done -
because he's done a super job.
'But I'm a competent manager, I
give fans information and don't withhold anything. I like to think
the players will grow to respect me and what I do. I've never
really had a problem with playing staff and I hope that continues
here.'
'The brief for me would be to
consolidate and stay in the division - but there's an opportunity
this year...the Premier League is so close. We're in a great
position for a team that's just been promoted but we've got to kick
on.
'I've had a lot of texts from
managers saying 'you must be mad going in there' but it's a massive
club, one of the top five in the country I'd suggest. I'd never be
able to live with myself if I didn't take that on.
'I can't put my finger on where
there's a problem in the team or a weak link in the squad. I'll be
talking about that with Simon Stone and Peter Beardsley.
'But my most immediate concern
for any manager is the next game. My immediate focus is that game
on Saturday night (at home to Liverpool) and I'm going to maximise
my time to prepare the team.
Huge pressure: Pardew now faces a battle to win
over the disillusioned supporters
'Our home form needs to
improve, we don't need another down day on Saturday. That's an area
we have to look to and make sure we put teams under continuous
pressure.
'My own theory about football is
that some of the most successful sides create players from within.
So I'll be making sure underneath the first team there is a good
solid base of young players coming through.
In my career I've been creative
with transfers. I got Yossi Benayoun for small money and took
players out of the Championship who did brilliantly for me at West
Ham.
'My message is there is a team
to be proud of. I can understand the frustration of losing Chris.
I'm very much aware the only faith I'm going to gain is by keeping
this club in the Premier League, where it belongs.'
The 49-year-old is well-known to
much-maligned St James' Park owner Mike Ashley and was quickly
established as the bookmakers' favourite on Monday, despite the
likes of Martin O'Neill and Martin Jol firmly in the jobs
market.
Pardew met members of the Toon hierachy at the Slaley
Hall country house on Wednesday night to rubberstamp his move and
is now set to be paraded at a press conference at 2.30pm on
Thursday afternoon.
Focus: Pardew is determind to push Newcastle on
this season
Out of work since his
sacking by Southampton in August, he is looking to bring in a
number of his own backroom and office staff but has faced
opposition from his potential new employers.
At his previous clubs, Pardew
has worked with his own assistants, notably Peter Grant, who became
Alex McLeish's No 2 at Birmingham in the summer, and Wally Downes,
who has just joined West Ham as Avram Grant's assistant.
He has also had extensive
support teams, including sports scientists, nutritionists,
masseurs, dieticians and video analysts. Newcastle have cut back on
such staff in recent years.
When Ashley sacked Sam
Allardyce, a manager he inherited, he was shocked by the number of
backroom staff he was also forced to pay off.
Toon legend Peter Beardsley, who
is in charge of the first-team squad as they prepare for
Liverpool's visit to St James' Park on Saturday, is one of the key
figures the board would like to keep.
Although Hughton fought hard to
keep Beardsley away from the first team, the one-time fans'
favourite has worked his way into a senior role over the last year
and is perceived by the board as an important ally in the PR battle
with fans.
That's Andy: Pardew knows he must keep Carroll on
Tyneside
Pardew, for his part,
recognises the importance of having some local influence in his
back-up team and will also keep on former England international
Steve Stone.
The impasse between Pardew and
the St James' board was not a deal breaker and it is thought he
will be paid close to the £450,000-a-year Hughton
received.
But it is an early indication of
the type of arena he is entering and the difficulties Hughton and
his predecessors faced.
Pardew has a number of other
difficult issues to deal with, notably the dressing-room unrest and
the battle to keep hold of England striker Andy Carroll.
Many fans fear the club will be
prepared to cash in on Carroll if the likes of Manchester United,
Chelsea or Tottenham follow up early interest with concrete
bids.
Pardew is also aware he faces a
near-impossible task to win over sceptical supporters.
On Wednesday, a poll in the
city's Evening Chronicle
newspaper saw him attract just 14 votes out of 1,000 on who fans
wanted as manager.
Hughton received more
backing in the online survey, with Martin O'Neill, who was not even
considered for the post, the runaway leader with 42.3 per
cent.
Former Spurs boss Martin Jol
attracted 32.8 per cent but has also ruled himself out.
Earlier, although they refused
to be quoted, the board used another local newspaper to give an
explanation for Hughton's dismissal.
According to 'sources' -
believed to be Llambias - the former Ireland assistant manager was
perceived to be a coach more than a manager and lacked the
experience to maintain Newcastle's top-flight status.
Pardew has managed for 74 games
in the Premier League and was relegated with Charlton.
