Source: FOOTYMAD
Pardew - Ashley wants To Build Something Here!
Cheick Tiote has signed a new contract which commits him to Newcastle until the end of the 2016/17 season. Tiote has been watched by Manchester United and Chelsea and his signing is major deal for manager Alan Pardew. We needed some good news, after all ... Andy Carroll left St James' Park last month in a £35million switch to Liverpool (three months after signing a new five-year deal) and Jose Enrique and Joey Barton have put their own contract talks on hold until the end of the season. Alan Pardew: "Negotiations are very, very difficult at this level of football, and I think the signing of Cheick underpins the message Mike wants to give, that we can build a young team here which can go forward and take the club forward. "Cheick is a big part of that and after the disappointment of Andy leaving, it's a very good statement. "Mike wanted to make a statement after Andy leaving that the future can be bright here, and signing Cheick is a big step forward because he's had a fabulous first season. "Hopefully now we can build on his signing with others. "That's something we have got to resolve between now and the end of the season to make sure we keep our best players, and hopefully we can manage to do that. "I think so. It's been well-documented in the past that there was a time when perhaps Mike Ashley wanted to get out, but he understands the club now. "He has had a rough ride with the situation here and he wants to try to build something. "Hopefully, this is the start of that. It is fantastic news for the fans, absolutely brilliant, because they were hit by Andy Carroll's departure. "But the performances of the team since then have suggested that it wasn't all about Andy, and the signing of Cheick is a further boost today."
