Pardew should target domestic cups, says Ketsbaia

Former Newcastle United midfielder Temuri Ketsbaia believes Alan Pardew can become a club legend if he wins the FA Cup or Capital One Cup.

Newcastle are not expected to challenge for top honours in the Premier League as big spenders Manchester City, Manchester United, Chelsea, Arsenal and Liverpool battle it out for the title.

The Tyneside-based club’s best opportunity of silverware is in domestic tournaments, though Newcastle have not triumphed in an England cup final since winning the FA Cup in 1955.

Newcastle did come close to ending that drought in 1998 and 1999, only to lose to Arsenal and United respectively.

Ketsbaia, who appeared in both of those finals, said it is important for manager Pardew to target success in the cups, with Newcastle unable to compete in the league.

“Unfortunately, it’s not ­realistic for Newcastle to challenge for the Premier League because, to do that, you have to have a huge amount of money,” Ketsbaia told the Mirror.

“It’s so hard to compete with Chelsea, Manchester City, Manchester United, Liverpool. But, of course, there’s more possibility to win those two cup ­competitions.

“Anyone who wins something with the club will have achieved something completely unbelievable.

“I played for the club twice in the cup final and said to myself that I would give up everything I had won as a player to just win one trophy for Newcastle.

“I remember it was just ­incredible, how much support the club had from those fans for all those years. I always dreamed of winning something with them.”

Challenging for the two cup competitions is a tough task itself, especially following the departures of key Frenchmen Yohan Cabaye and Mathieu Debuchy.

Newcastle have attempted to replace the duo with no less than eight players but the constant turnover makes future planning for Pardew difficult, according to the 46-year-old Georgian.

“When I was at Newcastle, we were buying some of the biggest names in European football and challenging for honours, that’s no longer happening,” he said.

“The problem with Newcastle is that, one year they’re challenging for Europe and then the next they’re trying to stay in the league. Every year the club is changing a lot in the team, it’s not easy for the manager.

“It’s almost impossible for him to plan for the future.”