Pardew: Harbours international ambitions

This week the Newcastle boss put pen to paper on an unprecedented eight-year contract on Tyneside, 18 months after arriving to replace the popular Chris Hughton.

The former West Ham, Reading, Charlton and Southampton manager was a controversial appointment, but the 51-year-old's stock has risen after guiding the Magpies into Europe.

Despite the length of his new deal, Pardew has confessed to harbouring international ambitions, but he feels any possibility of managing the national side is a long way in the future.

"I do have ambitions internationally, I would like to do that at some point," he told the Sunday Mirror. "Hopefully, I will see this contract out and then see what I'm going to do later on.

"I have always felt that a person can be a success as England manager. I won't change my opinion on that, but I don't think it's easy.

"Roy Hodgson probably has a tough spell as England manager because our pool of players is not as great as it used to be. Ultimately my ambition might reach that conclusion: to be England manager.

"It's not something I would not do and it's not something I want to do right now."

Pardew is wary over the effect any direct interest in the England job would have due to the speculation that surrounded the appointment of Fabio Capello's successor earlier in 2012.

"It is difficult because Harry Redknapp came out and said he wanted to be the England manager one day and he got into a situation where he lost his job at Spurs," he said.

Pardew was also keen to credit Newcastle owner Mike Ashley for the length of his new contract, after initially signing a five-year deal when he succeeded Hughton in December 2010.

"Both of us looked at the contract and felt it lacked a bit of security. So, this contract is more secure for Mike in terms of keeping me at the football club," he added.

"The eight years came from Mike. I never got to the point of talking about how long I wanted the contract for. He spoke to me about eight years - and I thought OK!"