Toon put Best foot forward

NEWCASTLE boss Alan Pardew says he is surpised his Republic of Ireland counterpart Giovanni Trapattoni has overlooked in-form striker Leon Best.

The Magpies front man was notable by his absence from the Ireland squad for the recent qualifiers against Andorra and Armenia despite having scored three times already in his club’s fine start to the Premier League campaign.

Asked about Best in Dublin last week, Trapattoni insisted he had not forgotten him, but having watched him play in Newcastle’s 2-1 win at Wolves a couple of days earlier, said he needed to work harder for his team before he was recalled to the international stage.