Alan Pardew is confident his “death stare” will be sufficient to tame Neil Warnock should Crystal Palace’s manager become a little over-excited on his return to the technical area at St James’ Park on Saturday.
Warnock, who is beginning his second spell in charge of Palace, has a reputation for feistiness but his Newcastle counterpart is adamant he will not be provoked. After being rude and crude to Manchester City’s Manuel Pellegrini in one touchline incident last season and headbutting Hull City’s David Meyler in another altercation, Pardew insists he is now much more measured.
“I’m a changed man,” said Pardew, who now rations his forays from dugout to technical area. “Neil gets emotional but I’ve never really had a problem with Neil. I think once at Sheffield United we might have had a bit of an issue but it didn’t take me long to give him my death stare and he backed off. He knows my death stare’s better than his.
“Seriously, it’s important that I show I’ve changed since the [Meyler] incident and limit my time in the technical area. I’m trying to keep my emotions under wraps to a certain degree.” As a former Palace midfielder, Pardew retains a strong affection for the club and was disappointed by Tony Pulis’s departure as manager earlier this month. “I was sad to see what went on,” he said. “I thought Tony fitted well at Palace.
“It’s a shame it’s broken but they have to move on and I think with all the turmoil that’s gone on Neil is probably a good choice. Neil has the experience and he’s going to make a difference to our game against them. A new manager always does; we’ve got to face that.”
He could have done without Warnock’s debut coinciding with Newcastle’s hunt for their first Premier League goal of the season.
Significantly, Pardew’s team have failed to score in 14 of their last 21 league games, meaning that, in 2014, they have drawn more blanks than any side in the top four divisions. Even Tuesday’s 1-0 League Cup win at Gillingham came courtesy of John Egan’s own goal.
“I think Palace will be difficult for us,” Pardew said. “It’s very difficult when teams pack their defences and don’t give us any space.
“I think when we score it will be from a penalty or a set play or maybe a shot from the edge of the area or a ricochet. Hopefully.”
Although summer signings such as Remy Cabella and Siem de Jong have radically enhanced Newcastle’s midfield creativity there are concerns that Emmanuele Riviere, the striker newly acquired from Monaco, is struggling to adapt to the Premier League.
Pardew does not share them. “He needs more games with more room,” he said. “I think when team’s fall behind against us, we’ll see the best of him. I don’t really worry about him. I think he’s a good player.”
Hatem Ben Arfa has been a source of anxiety for Newcastle’s manager since Pardew exiled the erstwhile France international last spring. On Monday though the manager watched as a fit, trim looking Ben Arfa shone - and scored - against Reading reserves during his first game of the summer. Asked to comment Pardew straight-batted: “All the reserves played well, it was a game we dominated.”
Even so, if he cannot sell Ben Arfa by Monday evening, the case for retrieving Newcastle’s most gifted individual from the club deep freeze will become compelling.