Waddle hails Pardew, Ashley

Former Newcastle winger Chris Waddle has lauded Alan Pardew and club owner Mike Ashley after the manager signed a new eight-year deal.



After guiding the club to a surprise fifth-place finish in the English Premier League last term, the 51-year-old boss has been rewarded for his efforts by having his contract significantly extended, even though his previous deal still had four years left to run.



But Waddle is not surprised in the least, saying the job Pardew has done has been nothing short of exceptional.

“They caught everyone out last year and were brilliant, and Pardew has done a great job,” Waddle told Goal.com.



”Mike Ashley has got it right off the pitch, he has balanced the books.”



The man who played for Newcastle for five years in the 1980s before moving to Tottenham did say the club should have perhaps brought in a few more senior faces in the off-season to push on higher up the table.



”I think the only thing they missed out on this summer was a couple of players to challenge for first-team places and put the other lads under pressure,” Waddle said.



”They’ve bought potential players for the future, which is great, but they could have done with a few to contest the likes of Demba Ba and Fabricio Coloccini and put pressure on them. 



“I don’t think they’ve done that and sometimes you lose that little bit of edge then and you want that competition as a player.”