Thursday 11 September 2014 21:43, UK
Newcastle manager Alan Pardew says he has heard nothing from owner Mike Ashley about possible plans to sell the club.
Reports have emerged suggesting Ashley would be willing to listen to offers for Newcastle, perhaps with a view to increasing his stake in Scottish side Rangers.
But Pardew said: “That’s news to me. I have heard no suggestion of that from him, or any signs from him.
“He has given us money to spend this summer, which hopefully we have spent well, but only time will tell. They are settling in well and that’s the important thing.
“His commitment to the club is as strong as it’s always been.”
Having finished last season on a very poor run of form, Newcastle have two draws and a defeat from their first three games this season, and Pardew is already coming under scrutiny.
A Newcastle Evening Chronicle poll received 5,078 responses and 84.4 per cent of them wanted Pardew to be replaced.
Regarding the speculation, Pardew said: “I’m afraid it is part and parcel of the Premier League.
“We haven’t won a game yet and, when teams haven’t won a game, the pressure is on those particular managers.
“And it is more so on me because, at the back-end of last year, we weren’t good enough.
“But I think we are good enough this year and I think our results will reflect that.
“In the short term, I think we have played well. We have only been beaten by Manchester City and they have destroyed a couple of other teams, as we know.
“In terms of where we are, we think we are in a good place.”
Newcastle are away at Southampton on Saturday and Pardew added: “I do know that, on the training ground, we are working very hard.
“And we are looking forward to a fixture that has been tough on us the last two times we have been to Southampton.
“We need to improve on that, for sure.”
