Big Sam wants to spend big

Dec 2 2007 by Neil Farrington, Sunday Sun

...NEWCASTLE boss Sam Allardyce has piled the pressure on owner Mike Ashley to make big money available in the January transfer window . . .

By admitting the shortcomings of the second or third-choice players he was forced to sign in the summer.

United chairman Chris Mort has hinted that Allardyce will be asked to make do with his current squad when the window reopens.

But that policy would get short shrift from a manager who admits he is still discovering the weaknesses of his close-season signings.

Ashley’s takeover of the club meant Allardyce (right) was forced to put several would-be transfers on hold.

And the Newcastle manager admitted: “No disrespect to the players we brought in, but we couldn’t really get what we wanted on the first round in the summer transfer window. We ended in the second or third area.

“I was looking for more Premiership experience. When I lost the opportunity to get those players, it then became hugely difficult.

“I saw that for the first time against Liverpool last week. I said to myself: ‘We are short defensively.’ Too many of our players at the moment are performing inconsistently.”