Pardew has spent the last few weeks having to fend off interest in star striker Andy Carroll, who has been linked with a £30million move to Tottenham, and is hoping to persuade a rejuvenated Joey Barton to sign a new deal. The Magpies are ready to resist any offer for Carroll this month, but realise there may come a time when they are unable to do so. Speaking on BBC Radio 5 Live's Sportsweek programme, Pardew said: "The most important people at the club are the players we have and who are doing well, the Andy Carrolls, [Cheik] Tiotes and Steven Taylors of this world. "We need to make sure they stay part of the fabric of this club and we build on those with the good senior players, the Kevin Nolans, the Joey Bartons and [Steve] Harpers that we have around them. "We have a nice balance at the moment and it's important we keep that nucleus and build on it. "My main job so far has been to secure the nucleus rather than to build on it. "The difficulty is that because we are a team that's not in the Champions League, we are vulnerable to Champions League teams who can pay salaries that are very difficult for us. "It's difficult to explain to fans how to fend these clubs off, and we have managed to do that in Joey's case. "He has 18 months to run which leaves him vulnerable, and other clubs are aware of that and they are testing our resolve. "We hope Joey commits to us because he has been superb for me, not just as a player but within the group, and I want to secure him for a longer period, and we are going to try and do that."
