The Newcastle manager signed an eight-year contract on the condition he kept his nose clean; did what he was told; and didn't end up on the naughty step.
And ... to date ... he has done just that.
He remembers, full well, the way Chris Hughton knocked on Mike Ashley's door with the begging bowl before the January transfer window (2010/11) ... and ended up at Central Station with Ashley's boot up his arse.
The Newcastle manager’s main priority is to sign a striker to replace Demba Ba, with Marseille’s Loic Remy and Saint Etienne’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang high on his wish list, but Pardew also wants a centre-back to shore up a defence that has conceded 13 goals in its last three games.
Pardew (pictured right) is desperate to persuade Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias to allow him to strengthen his squad with senior players ... but he will whisper it quietly.
Having lost his top goalscorer, Ba, to Chelsea and with pivotal players like Hatem Ben Arfa, Yohan Cabaye and Steven Taylor missing because of injury, Newcastle are starting to fear the worst this season.
They have lost 10 of their past 13 games in all competitions and sit just two points above the relegation zone, with the teams below them all showing signs of improvement.
Alan Pardew: “Mike Ashley has been very supportive.
“And he has to be even more supportive in this window and he has to find the extra money for the striker.
"We’re not going to buy a striker for the money we’ve received for Demba.
"We try to get the best possible deal for the club, but we do have to take into account where we are.
"We are in a battle to secure our Premier League status and make no bones about that.
“You have less options in this window.
“But it doesn’t mean to say it’s more difficult. There’s always a player who can enhance a team.
"We have a couple of strikers [on our list] who can play out wide, which would push Cabaye forward to play in a loose No 10 role for us, which is a role he’s done very well for us in the past.
"And we have a couple who would link up well with Papiss [Cisse] through the middle.
“It’s not just a striker that’s needed, but that’s going to depend a lot on how much the striker costs us.
"That’s something I think we’ll come to later in the window. The return to fitness of Steven Taylor and getting Debuchy has helped us massively in defence, but I still think perhaps another one is what we need.”
Source: Newcastle United Mad
Source: FOOTYMAD
