Pardew hoping to strengthen Newcastle

The Premier League club posted an increase in profits for the year ending June 2013 and manager Pardew is hopeful that owner Mike Ashley will allow him to use that money to keep Newcastle on an upward curve.

Pardew has got his sights set on a close-season recruitment drive and revealed that he would like to bring in at least two or three new signings.

"We are the eighth best team in the Premier League, and we want to get higher than that, so that's what we have got to try and do," he said at a press conference on Thursday.

"We haven't got Qatar money – we haven't got that sort of finance – it is a slow-build, keep getting better, keep getting stronger, and hopefully our fans realise that.

"We are going to need at least two or three signings who come straight into the team, or have a very good chance of starting.

"I think we have to be a lot more active than we have been for a while, because we are looking light in certain areas."