ALAN Pardew’s drawing inspiration from Newcastle United’s famous Fairs Cup win of of 1969.
The club take on Metalist Kharkiv at St James’s Park in a Europa League Round of 32 tie tonight.
And Pardew – who took the club back on to the continent after a five-year absence – is looking to draw on the experiences of Fars Cup-winning captain Bob Moncur, who has an ambassadorial role at St James’s Park.
“I speak to Bob most weeks,” Pardew told the Gazette. “He’s works in the background here.
“He’s a great person to have at this football club. He’s a legend, and to have him in and around the building, it means a lot.”
Assistant manager John Carver was by Sir Bobby Robson’s side during United’s last Champions League campaign.
And Pardew – who talked his desire to renew the club’s European “reputation” at his pre-match Press conference yesterday - believes the wisdom within the four walls of St James’s Park is invaluable to him.
He watched United’s famous 3-2 win over Barcelona while still a player, and that game – and Faustino Asprilla’s hat-trick – is still etched on his memory.
“I think you can’t get away from the history of this football club – it’s written in my memory from watching it on TV as a Londoner, if you want to call me that,” added Pardew.
“I’ve experienced the Barcelona win etc etc. For the people here, obviously from John Carver I get information from Sir Bobby’s time.
“We’ve got some experience around us. All the staff have had a lot of Champions League games. That all helps. You need those percentages and marginal games.”
Comments