Pardew: England still appeals

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew has reiterated that he would be interested in managing England.

The 51-year-old arrived at Sports Direct Arena to replace the popular Chris Hughton in 2010 and, after seeing his reputation soar with the Tyneside club’s fifth-placed finish in the Premier League last season, has made no secret of his desire to take charge of the national team.

The club secured a new eight-year contract with the former Southampton manager on Thursday and Pardew hopes to honour the deal before considering his future.

“I do have ambitions internationally, I would like to do that at some point,” he told reporters.

“Hopefully, I will see this contract out and then see what I’m going to do later on.

“I have always felt that a person can be a success as England manager. I won’t change my opinion on that, but I don’t think it’s easy.

“Roy Hodgson probably has a tough spell as England manager because our pool of players is not as great as it used to be. Ultimately my ambition might reach that conclusion: to be England manager.

“It’s not something I would not do and it’s not something I want to do right now.”

Pardew also praised Newcastle owner Mike Ashley after the pair’s recent contract negotiations, revealing it was the Magpies’ owner who suggested the length of the deal.

“Both of us looked at the contract and felt it lacked a bit of security. So, this contract is more secure for Mike in terms of keeping me at the football club,” he added.

“The eight years came from Mike. I never got to the point of talking about how long I wanted the contract for. He spoke to me about eight years – and I thought: ‘OK!'”