NEWCASTLE UNITED WILL name Alan Pardew as their new manager at a 2pm press conference today.

The Londoner will not be a popular choice with fans, after much maligned owner Mike Ashley insisted he was was compelled to replace Chris Hughton with a ‘more-experienced’ boss.

Hughton of course was assistant manager to Brian Kerr when the Dubliner was Ireland manager between 2003 and 2005.

And last night Kerr dismissed Ashely’s latest decision. He told presenter Matt Coooper on Today FM’s The Last Word programme:

They said in the statement that they felt they needed someone with more experience. These are the same people who appointed Alan Shearer with no experience.

Alan Pardew has done a reasonable job at some clubs.

But he’s out of the scene in the Premier League in the last few seasons and Chris has been in the thick of it for the last 15-20 seasons.

There was some speculation last month that Hughton was at loggerheads with club chiefs as he wanted to appoint Kerr as his assistant. The Faroe Islands coach says he was unaware of any such move.

What I do know is that the club told him they wanted him to take someone from inside and that Chris wasn’t so happy about that. He wasn’t allowed to bring in his own choice.

The little feelers I got from Chris are that he wasn’t happy this summer, or even the previous summer, with the lack of backing he got from the owner.

He came into a right mess. The owner made it quite clear he wanted to sell the club and didn’t want to invest in the team. Chris was left to hold the fort and put a bit of shape on it.

He got them promoted, and developed a spirit that many felt was beyond them with some of the characters that are there.

However, Kerr’s former player, Matt Holland, says that Pardew may be the right man for job.

The ex-Ireland captain insists that Pardew’s personality is big enough for the highest-profile position in England’s north-east. He told the Telegraph:

He is a strong character and I believe that he will be able to deal with the pressure.

I worked with Alan (at Charlton)  and I like him, I enjoyed working under him.

He might not necessarily be the choice of the Geordie fans. But I would say give him a chance.