Alan Pardew has reaffirmed his commitment to Newcastle United, ruling himself out of the running to replace Fabio Capello as England coach.
Although Tottenham Hotspur boss Harry Redknapp is the clear favourite to take the England job, Pardew has also been tipped to feature in the running after guiding Newcastle to fifth place in the English Premier League this season.
His previous achievements include reaching the FA Cup final with West Ham United in 2006.
But speaking on Thursday, the former Reading manager said he does not wish to abandon what he has started with Newcastle.
“Firstly, as an Englishman, I’m proud to be in that sort of frame, but it’s not for me and I’ll make that quite clear,” Pardew told reporters.
“I’m not even in the running as far as I’m concerned.”
“I’m very, very happy here at Newcastle, we’re on a little project here that’s going really well and I want to see it through.”
“And the passion and everything about this place is why I want to stay here.”
Pardew said he would like to see the job go to an Englishman, and hoped a deal could be agreed which would allow Redknapp to take the job.
The Spurs boss had been widely expected to take over from Capello after the European Championships in Poland and the Ukraine, but Tottenham will be reluctant to permit his departure mid-way through a promising domestic campaign.
“I do want it to go to an Englishman, just on a personal level,” Pardew said.
“That’s important this time. I really, really hope Harry and Spurs and everybody sorts themselves out and can do it in a manner that it works for everybody.”
