Pardew - Contract negotiations rumble on at NUFC

Alan Pardew has admitted that the club are no further forward in the race to secure players to new contracts.

Deals for Fabricio Coloccini and Danny Simpson are being eyed although this latest admission doesn't bode too well with the January transfer window coming up.

Pardew believes that negotiations are proving difficult thanks to the great start to the season the club have enjoyed. He claims that it raises the expectations of players and agents which is making life hard when it comes to the art of contract negotiation.

"As a manager I want my captain to be secured, they all seem to rumble on at this football club," Pardew told the Northern Echo. "Hopefully we can strike a deal with the three we're talking to."

"I'd like to keep all the players here because they are doing terrific, but with success comes high expectations from the players and agents and we have to cope with that."

It seems to me that the only contract negotiations that rumble on at Newcastle are those that involve senior players. Put a young lad at the negotiating table and a five-year deal can be signed, sealed and delivered in the blink of eye, but put a senior player there and it seems to be a whole different kettle of fish.

I mean lets look at the form book here for a minute. It doesn't bode well does it? Whatever the circumstances of Joey Barton, Kevin Nolan and Jose Enrique leaving the club, and regardless of whether or not we're better off without them, the fact remains that none of them could agree a new deal with the club. In fact it's that predictable that I was shocked when Jonas Gutierrez agreed a new deal a few months ago.

Now I'm not privvy to what goes on behind the scenes. I don't know what is going on with all these contract negotiations, but it is getting rather worrying is it not? Time will tell, but the longer these negotiations rumble on the more concerned I get, especially with January just around the corner.

I can live without Simpson, even though I think he can play a part for us. With Colo I'm not so sure though. I just hope the club realise how much it would cost to acquire another defender of his quality and weight that up when they start crunching the numbers.