Roeder reassured by Shepherd

Newcastle boss Glenn Roeder has been assured his job is safe amid speculation that former Bolton boss Sam Allardyce is being lined up to replace him.

Chairman Freddy Shepherd was not commenting on a new wave of rumours today in the wake of Allardyce's resignation from his post at Bolton yesterday.

However, it is understood he has told Roeder he will remain at the helm despite a disappointing season which will at best result in a 10th-place Premiership finish with three games still to play.

There is little doubt that is way below the expectations of a club which not so long ago claimed a top-four berth in successive seasons - Bobby Robson was sacked after managing just fifth in 2003-04 - but Shepherd knows there are mitigating factors.

Injuries to key players such as Michael Owen, Shay Given, Stephen Carr, Titus Bramble, Damien Duff, Charles N'Zogbia, Kieron Dyer and Shola Ameobi have undoubtedly been a major hindrance.

In addition, the excesses of Graeme Souness' reign - the Scot was handed £50m (€73.2m) with which to strengthen his squad, but invested £20m (€29.3m) of it in Albert Luque, Jean-Alain Boumsong and Amdy Faye - left Roeder's hands tied to an extent.

That said, the former West Ham boss, who was handed the job on a permanent basis last May after dragging the club into Europe as caretaker, was still able to bring in Obafemi Martins and Duff at a cost of £15m (€21.9m).

Former academy manager Roeder has been repeatedly under the spotlight simply because his appointment broke tradition with the Magpies having consistently gone for big names since Kevin Keegan reignited the club under former chairman John Hall.

Allardyce famously turned the job down before Souness was appointed, and although he was heavily linked with it once again after the Scot's departure, Shepherd was not about to give him a second chance.

That has not stopped him being repeatedly touted as a future manager at St James' Park, although he is not the only one.

Earlier this month, Shepherd was forced to issue a denial, and not for the first time, that he was courting former England manager Sven-Goran Eriksson.

He said: "Is it April Fools day today? Any talk of Sven-Goran Eriksson - or anyone else for that matter - coming as manager to St James' Park is sheer and utter garbage.

"I have not spoken to Sven since he left the England job and I have no intention of speaking to him.

"Neither have I spoken to his agent Athole Still or Tord Grip, and as far as I am aware, they have not approached us.

"In any case if they did, it would not matter a jot because we already have a manager."

The word coming out of St James' today was that the situation has not changed, although at a club which has had five different managers in the last 10 years, that is unlikely to quell the speculation.