Sam Allaryce has expressed his confidence in tying Morten Gamst Pedersen down to a new deal at Blackburn.
Blackburn boss hoping to keep Norwegian
Sam Allaryce has expressed his confidence in tying Morten Gamst Pedersen down to a new deal at Blackburn.
The Norwegian midfielder is out of contract at the end of the season and is now free to enter talks with other clubs.
He admitted earlier this week that he would be tempted to join Fenerbahce after being linked with a move to the Turkish outfit, although he would not rule out staying at Ewood Park.
Allardyce is not aware of any interest from overseas and hopes Pedersen will commit his future to Rovers.
Asked whether he was confident of holding onto Pedersen, the manager replied: "Yeah, I think so.
"We all know he is out of contract this year, so we will have to see what we can do about that.
"There's no reason for us to do anything with him at this stage, not unless somebody suddenly pops up from abroad to give him a pre-contract.
"If that was the case then we would have heard about that, so we'll obviously try and continue to talk to him regarding a new contract."
System change
Pedersen struggled to produce his best form earlier in the season but has excelled in a more central position and scored a wonderful goal in Wednesday's 2-1 victory over Wigan.
Allardyce believes he has benefited from the system change after spending most of his career on the wing.
"He is getting more of the ball, becoming more active," he said.
"He doesn't have to be quite as quick in that position as he does out wide, so doing that has brought the best out of him.
"It's been a major bonus for us and him. It's allowed him to get more involved in the game, to express himself more and he has found more space there.
"He is also finding his quality in the final third, which is something he has done before at this club.
"I hope he continues to grow in confidence like many of the other lads are doing at the moment.
"Some may say it's a long time over due, but if it's back, let's hope it's back for a long time."
