Newcastle made Loic Remy 'a fantastic offer'

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew does not believe he could have done any more to bring France striker Loic Remy to St James' Park.

The 26-year-old joined Barclays Premier League bottom side QPR yesterday after the Magpies had led the way in the race to secure the frontman's signature.

Remy travelled to Tyneside last Sunday for continued talks and a medical after Newcastle agreed an £8million fee with Marseille. However, QPR chairman Tony Fernandes and Hoops boss Harry Redknapp managed to persuade Remy to join the relegation-threatened club and dash the Magpies' hopes of snaring Remy as a replacement for Demba Ba following his move to Chelsea.

"It was a little strange as we had obviously put a lot of work in and made the club an offer that was accepted, a good offer," Pardew said.

"We made a fantastic offer to the player and then he didn't arrive. This club is on a financial footing that is strong, but we're still not going to pay silly money.

"We're going to pay what is correct and that is what we offered.

"We made a fantastic offer, a fantastic Premiership offer to that player - trust me.

"I don't really want to criticise the player. The player makes the decision and he stands by it. I don't really have anything else to say on it."

Meanwhile, Pardew, who is preparing his side for a must-win match against strugglers Reading tomorrow, remains hopeful the situation surrounding Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini will be resolved in a positive way for the club next week.

Coloccini told the Magpies he wanted to return to his native Argentina for personal reasons, where his former club San Lorenzo have expressed a strong interest in signing him.

However, Newcastle would have to release the defender from the long-term contract he committed to last year as the Argentinian club cannot afford to buy him.

Pardew said: "We're going to sit down next week and hopefully iron out the issues and come to the conclusion that Colo stays and obviously that's what I hope for as a manager."

Despite the off-field distractions, Pardew is still pleased with the way the 30-year-old has been commanding the Newcastle defence, especially with last week's clean sheet against Norwich.

"It's obvious that there is a problem there in his life," Pardew said.

"The best way of dealing with it sometimes is to be on a football pitch and play your best football and he certainly did that last week."

With Newcastle only two points and two places above the bottom three, Pardew knows he still needs to strengthen his side before the transfer window closes.

But, following the failed pursuit of Remy, Pardew is remaining cautious and is refusing to panic buy.

He said: "The job for us is to make sure we're strong enough in the second half of the season. We've obviously lost Demba Ba and we need to find a replacement. There's no doubt about that and we're working very hard towards it.

"It's important that the club goes forward in the right manner and we don't make a knee-jerk decision and bring in a player that is not suitable and right for this football team.

"But we still have to be conscious of where we are in the division and we're in a precarious position that we hope to strengthen on Saturday with a positive result.

"I think we definitely need a player or two in this window to make sure of our Premier League status because we're under a little bit of pressure.

"Hatem Ben Arfa is still missing, I've lost Demba and Cheick (Tiote) is away on African Nations duty so our full complement of players within our club is not good enough because we're still missing players."

PA