Newcastle appoint Pardew as new boss

Alan Pardew has been unveiled as the new Newcastle manager, after Chris Hughton was sacked on Monday.

The former West Ham, Reading, Charlton and most recently Southampton boss has been installed as boss after being the favourite with the bookmakers to be appointed as Hughton's successor.

Pardew, 49, has been given a mammoth 5 and 1/2 year contract with the Magpies. He said to BBC Sport before his first press conference: "I am honoured and privileged to have been given this opportunity at one of the truly great clubs in English football,"

Hughton was sacked despite taking the Magpies back to the Premier League in his first season in charge, but the board cited his dismissal was down to them 'wanting someone with more experience'.

Newcastle were 11th in the league when Hughton was sacked, leaving fans stunned by the board's decision to dismiss the coach. Pardew has over 500 games in management but limited top-flight level experience.

Pardew had been out of work since the end of August. He was controversially sacked by Southampton after winning 4-0 against Bristol Roves but reports suggested he was removed because of the board's concerns over team morale. Pardew won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy last season with Saints.

Initially, it seemed that Martin Jol was set to land the job after leaving Dutch club Ajax with mutual consent, but the BBC reported yesterday that Pardew has been in discussions with the club for around 10 days.

Pardew brought West Ham back to the top flight in 2005 via the playoffs before being sacked in December 2006. His time at Charlton wasn't successful either as he failed to keep the club up in 2007. He left the following season.

Newcastle fans appear outraged at chairman Mike Ashley's decision to sack Hughton, with 92% saying he was wrong to do so. A SkySports.com poll found that only 5.5% thought Pardew should be Newcastle's next manager

Hughton's position seemed safe after a historic 5-1 win against rivals Sunderland, but recent performances against Bolton and West Brom left questions about Newcastle's form.

Female First - Chris Mayer