Newcastle United Football Club

• Nickname:Magpies
• Founded:1881
• Manager:Alan Pardew

• Ground:St James' Park
• Capacity:52193

Roeder rubbishes speculation

04 May 2007 - 12:32:44

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Newcastle United manager Glenn Roeder insists all the conjecture about his future at St James' Park is not affecting him.

It is widely believed that Roeder will be axed by the Magpies at the end of the season, with former Bolton Wanderers manager Sam Allardyce currently being tipped to replace him.

But the former West Ham United manager is unconcerned by all the talk, saying: "Newcastle United is a massive club and we're always going to be an easy target as far as managers and players are concerned.

"As a result I have to say that all this speculation does not surprise me. But I've not given it a moment's thought or consideration - it's all gone over the top of my head.

"Really, I have more important things to deal with, especially Blackburn Rovers at St James' Park on Saturday.

"This is what I've been focusing on since Reading on Monday night, and nobody knows more than me just how important it is for us to win our last home game of the season.

"Yes, it's been a difficult season because there have been so many twists and turns.

"I don't know of any manager - in or out of the game - who could have coped with the amount of injuries we've had. But at least on Saturday our fans will see both Michael Owen and Shola Ameobi back at St James' Park.

"We're looking for them to score us some goals, and over a full season we could have expected 35 goals from them. How many more points would this have given us?"