Pardew is still feeling the heat

Date published: 15 July 2014


RECENT star signings have turned frowns upside down on the faces of previously-frustrated Newcastle fans.

Siem de Jong is the most eye-catching of the new arrivals to St James’s Park, with the attack-minded Dutch midfield man joining for a fee of £6million.

The former Ajax captain, who has 10 caps for the Netherlands but was not selected for the World Cup squad, is expected to start the friendly against Athletic at SportsDirect.com Park tonight (7.30pm kick-off).

So, too, are another pair of summer captures. Jack Colback has made the switch from local rivals Sunderland on a free transfer, while it is hoped £1.5million forward prospect Ayoze Perez will help provide the fire power the Premier League club lacked last season.

Midfield ace Remy Cabella, a £12m signing from Montpellier, won’t turn out as he is on holiday following a non-playing role in France’s 23-man squad in Brazil.

Instead, those attending tonight are likely to see exciting young forward prospect Adam Armstrong (17) showcasing his talent as the Magpies hunt down goals to take the heat off manager Alan Pardew.

It is foolhardy to read too much into friendly results, of course, but while activity in the player market has eased some of the pressure on Pardew’s shoulders, an unexpected defeat at the hands of Sky Bet League One opponents could make the Toon boss vulnerable once again.

Newcastle’s latest Premier League season spluttered to a close, Pardew apportioning some blame on his players saving themselves for the World Cup.

Whatever the reasoning, seven defeats out of eight to end the 2013-14 Premier League campaign in 10th position — coupled with apparently widespread discontent over the way the club is being run by Sports Direct supremo Mike Ashley — means this warm-up game has more than usual riding on it from the visitors’ perspective.

From Athletic’s point of view, having scored eight goals last time out at Curzon Ashton, this is a far sterner test pitched against an experienced defence which could feature aformidable centre-back pairing of Steven Taylor and Mike Williamson.

All over the pitch, home manager Lee Johnson expects the legs of his squad to be tested.

“It is a good game for us and right now, our boys are looking quite sharp,” Johnson said.

“The Steaua (Bucharest) game was positive for us and we scored a few goals at Curzon Ashton.

“This is a test that arrives at a good time for us, against a quality team with Premier League athleticism.

“It is a good chance to see where we are. I am sure they will expose our weaknesses with their power and pace and at this stage we have time to work on those.”

Players absent from the Newcastle squad tonight include Netherlands shoot-out hero goalkeeper Tim Krul, Arsenal-bound Mathieu Debuchy, injured right-back Davide Santon, France World Cup star Moussa Sissoko and out-of-favour duo Hatem Ben Arfa and Sylvain Marveaux.

Newcastle (possible, 4-5-1): Elliott; R Taylor, Williamson, S Taylor, Dummett; Armstrong, Perez, De Jong, Gouffran, Colback; Campbell.