The 49-year-old Londoner was on Thursday afternoon unveiled as Chris Hughton's successor as furious fans made their feelings known about his appointment on a five-and-a-half-year contract. Pardew, who was not accompanied by owner Mike Ashley or managing director Derek Llambias when he met the media for the first time as the new Magpies manager, spoke frankly over his reception and acknowledged the residual anger at Hughton's treatment. However, he moved quickly to quell speculation that 21-year-old Carroll, the jewel in the departing manager's crown, could be sold to give him a January transfer kitty. Pardew said: "Andy Carroll was at the top of my list of questions because he needs to stay. "This club has been crying out for another number nine and he looks like he's fitting the bill, so I made it very clear that he needs to stay." Pardew, who also revealed he would be trying to persuade out-of-contract defender Steven Taylor to stay on Tyneside, took up the reins well aware of the underwhelming response to his appointment. However, while much of the fury is directed at Ashley and his regime rather than him, he is confident he can win over his doubters. He said: "I know they [the fans] are frustrated, that's fairly obvious by the reaction. "I'm not going to say I have kept away from it, I have tried to keep up to date with the frustration. "They probably thought they had some stability with Chris and that's gone, and the record of managers who have come and gone here, it doesn't bode well. "I am trying to say that I will work as hard as I possibly can here to get a situation where I can bring some longevity to the job." Despite the length of his contract - even Kevin Keegan and Sir Bobby Robson did not last five and a half years on Tyneside - Pardew is acutely aware that he will have little chance of remaining in his post until 2016 unless he can keep the club in the Premier League. He is yet to meet the players - he has had a brief telephone conversation with captain Kevin Nolan and will address the squad for the first time on Friday, and he will then start the process of assessing the resources at his disposal. But he is confident that the men he inherited from Hughton are good enough to preserve the club's top-flight status based on the foundation of the 19 points they have collected from the first 16 games. He said: "I do think there is enough and we have got to make sure the impact of this mid-season situation with the manager changing isn't an adverse impact. "I am very much aware that the only faith I am going to gain is by keeping this club in the Premier League where it belongs. "I have had a lot of texts from managers saying, 'You must be mad going in there, it's such a tough agenda and the history of the ownership with managers'. "It is a massive club, it is a huge, huge club - it is one of the top five clubs in the country, I would suggest. "I would never be able to live with myself if I didn't take that challenge on and try to get the best possible contract I could for myself, the longevity of it, to try to give me the strength when difficult times come to try to get through them so I can grow this team and grow this club."
