Magpies hold fire on new deals

Alan Pardew insists that contract negotiations have not broken down with Newcastle duo Fabricio Coloccini and Danny Simpson.

Centre-back Coloccini - whose contract is set to expire in the summer of 2013 - has been a key player in the Magpies' impressive season, playing 25 games in all competitions, while former Manchester United trainee Simpson has made the right-back position his own this campaign.

And, though Pardew admits he is looking to tie some members of his squad to longer-term deals, the 50-year-old says there will be no developments until after the January transfer window.

"We haven't broken down with anybody," said Pardew. "We are just waiting for the window to shut, really, before we focus on the guys whose contracts we need to really analyse.
Tricky

"There are a couple out of contract and couple the year after, so we need to keep an eye on that."

Meanwhile, Pardew and his squad - flying high in sixth place in the Premier League - turn their attention to the FA Cup on Saturday with a tricky away tie at Championship side Brighton.

The Toon boss has lost finals as both a player - with Crystal Palace - and manager with West Ham in 2006, and is relishing another crack at the competition.

He added: "The cup competitions, I personally really look forward to. We will be sending a strong side to Brighton and hopefully getting a positive result."

 

They are probably busy trying to sign players

 

Seem silly waiting until after the window closes. If we offer Simpson a contract ultimatum now and he refuses, we can put him on the market and possibly get a bit for him, as well as knowing we need to find a replacement.

 

If we wait until they're not on the market, then it's more likely we can convince them to stay.