Saints - Pardew will stay

Chairman denies that manager's position is under threat

Last updated: 13th May 2010   Subscribe to RSS Feed

Saints - Pardew will stay

Pardew: Set to stay

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Southampton chairman Nicola Cortese insists that manager Alan Pardew is set to stay at the club.

Speculation has mounted that Pardew could lose his role as Saints boss, despite only taking the reins last summer.

Southampton narrowly missed out on a place in the League One play-offs because they were deducted 10 points at the beginning of the campaign, but they won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy after a 4-1 victory over Carlisle at Wembley.

Italian chairman Cortese says the speculation regarding Pardew was just an attempt to destabilise the club.

Cortese told the club's official website: "In recent days, there has been much speculation in some of the tabloid national and local press about the position of our first team manager, Alan Pardew.

"This speculation could be interpreted as a deliberate attempt to unsettle both the club and Alan. Without exception it has been ill-informed.

"Yesterday (Wednesday) I completed a thorough review of the first team with Alan and we are clear and agreed on our plans and objectives for the coming season.

"Beyond next season, reaching the Premier League remains our stated and primary objective. Both Alan and I share these objectives and targets."

Cortese conducted the deal to buy Southampton for current owner Markus Liebherr last summer when they were in administration.

He added: "Reflecting on the season just ended, we finished seventh in League One, thereby missing out on the play-offs which was obviously disappointing despite the 10-point deduction.

"Nevertheless, we made good progress, particularly in the second half of the season, and we won the Johnstone's Paint Trophy on a special day at the home of football."