Sam Allardyce remained cool in the face of hostile fire last night, Newcastle United’s manager choosing to shrug off speculation that he will be replaced by Alan Shearer.
Reassured by backing from his chairman Chris Mort, who yesterday said there was “no truth” in suggestions that he and Mike Ashley, the Newcastle owner, are looking for a new manager, Allardyce seemed philosophical. “I do not have any worries or concerns as far as they [Mort and Ashley] are concerned,” he said. “The pressure that has been put on them as well as me, they understand it is outside influences trying to exert pressure on them. It is all part of the game.”
Asked if he felt Shearer was casting a shadow over him, he said: “It has always been there and it always will be. There is nothing more to say on the subject.”
Mort said he was weary of the rumours that Allardyce is to be swapped for a new manager, with Martin Jol mentioned as a possible alternative to Shearer. “All this makes me laugh and I find the speculation tedious,” said the chairman. “There is a different name every week and there is just no truth in it.”
Even so, Allardyce’s problems at St James’ Park – where he is in desperate need of a win at home to Manchester City tomorrow night – have alerted leading agents to offer their managerial clients to Newcastle and it is understood that Ashley has been told one of Europe’s leading managers is interested in the job.
For now, though, it belongs to Allardyce who is hoping to persuade Mort to allow him to sign some players this month when four of Newcastle’s squad temporarily depart for the African Cup of Nations.
“I am putting players forward to the chairman and decisions will be made from there,” said Newcastle’s manager yesterday. “The players that might be available and are available are being discussed on a regular basis, day to day. I was never given an indication of a budget in the summer and it will be similar in this window.”
It seems that Sven-Goran Eriksson has cooled on signing Michael Owen for City this month and Allardyce does not anticipate any departures. “It would have to be a very lucrative offer for anyone to move away from the club,” he said.
Newcastle’s manager has “not yet decided” whether to give a start tomorrow to Owen, newly recovered from the thigh strain which has sidelined the England striker for six weeks.
Not surprisingly he feels that Owen’s absence has exacerbated his current plight. “We have had games where we have created a large number of chances and you have to wonder, if Michael had been there, we might have converted a higher proportion of our chances,” he said.
“His injury has been a massive disappointment. But he is now back and we can only hope that with no internationals coming up, and his training and fitness work [being] in-house, we can get him fit and scoring goals again.”
Guardian News & Media 2008
Published: 12/31/2007
Tags: Allardyce, Fitness, Hopes, Owen, Pins, Shearer, Shrugs, Talk
