Toon task leaves Pardew with no illusions

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew acknowledged that his first battle at St James’ Park will be to win the affection of the club’s players and fans.

The 49-year-old former West Ham manager was officially unveiled as the Chris Hughton’s replacement on Thursday and was quick to concede that his predecessor’s surprise sacking meant he had a lot to prove to the Newcastle faithful.

“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,” Pardew said.

“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 longevity of Pardew’s contract, which runs until 2016, has caused somewhat of a stir at Tyneside, but the newly appointed manager defended the deal.

“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,” he said.

“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.”

And while Newcastle’s cash-conscious owner, Mike Ashley, was reluctant to purchase new players under Hughton’s tenure, Pardew believes he will have no problem accumulating money to strengthen his squad.

“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,” he said.

“In the past I have convinced owners to have faith and trust in me to invest. Obviously I’ve got to gain that.”