Big Sam: All quiet on Dyer

Allardyce: Ready for start

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Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce insists there has been no more interest in Kieron Dyer.

The England midfielder was set to join West Ham last weekend but the transfer fell through when Newcastle changed their valuation of the player at the last minute.

Dyer had been keen to leave Newcastle and move closer to his family in Ipswich, but Allardyce maintains the West Ham deal is definitely off.

And Allardyce has yet to be approached by anybody else about Dyer.

"He's here, he's a Newcastle United player and there's been no movement from West Ham and no other interest from any other club at the moment," Allardyce told Sky Sports News.

Injury concerns

Allardyce has been eager to solve Newcastle's injury problems since taking charge at St James' Park, but he admits he has so far been frustrated in his attempts to do so.

"You hope your squad is big enough and strong enough to cope with injuries," he said.

"Shay Given picked up a groin injury on Sunday against Sampdoria and he won't make it now and it'll be a week or two before he does.

"We all hoped Michael Owen would complete a pre-season without any problems but he's got a thigh strain.

"And the long-term injuries to Damien Duff, (Celestine) Babayaro and Emre are obviously progressing slowly but surely.

"So we have five very high-profile, experienced players that are missing from the squad, plus Joey Barton with his metatarsal makes it six, so it's a big blow from the selection point of view."

Newcastle open their Premier League campaign against Allardyce's former club Bolton, and the manager is fully aware that history is not on their side.

He said: "We will go into Saturday's game as well prepared as we can be and knowing what we have to do to get a result at Bolton, because the last five seasons we've lost every game at Bolton."