Rangers 1 Newcastle United 1

NEWCASTLE UNITED manager Alan Pardew is still hopeful of adding at two more players to his squad this summer, but admits their quest for reinforcements could go right to the wire.

After a long wait, the Magpies finally got their hands on Loic Remy six months after he turned the club down to join Queens Park Rangers. Director of football Joe Kinnear is still working on two more signings – another striker and an attacking midfielder – and although they have been linked with various players including Darren Bent and Bafetimbi Gomis, Pardew revealed deals for their next signings may not happen straight away.

The deal to bring Gomis to Tyneside continues to drag on with Lyon president Jean Michel Aulas yesterday revealing he is pessimistic over the transfer going ahead.

Newcastle have agreed a fee with the Ligue 1 club and terms with the striker, but the move is being held up over agent fees.

“I am very disappointed that the deal was never finished with Newcastle,” Aulas said.

“Personally, I am very pessimistic. Someone is pulling the strings behind the scenes.

“I have filed a complaint for ‘destabilisation’. Things will be settled in front of the appropriate committee.

“It is a complete disservice to Bafe. He is a player that we respect. It completely flipped over with Newcastle. It was a priority that Bafe should have got what he wanted in terms of salary.

“For the moment, the situation is blocked. On the August 30, if no solution is reached we will reintegrate Bafe in the squad. We will have to change our approach to Bafe’s situation. Our desire is to settle things positively for everyone involved.”

Pardew also denied any interest in Liverpool winger Stewart Downing after watching Shola Ameobi rescue a draw against Rangers in their penultimate pre-season friendly.

Remy – who didn’t travel to Glasgow because of a calf injury – could miss the season opener against Manchester City, but Pardew revealed the club’s medical staff will work hard to get the Frenchman fit as soon as possible.

“When we’ve assessed him (Remy) it looks like he’ll have to have another couple of days before he can really do any work.

“I think his chances of starting at Manchester City are very very slim. Hopefully we’ll cram as much as we can into him and get him up to speed. I think it’s fair to the other players that he needs to be at their level before he pitches in.

“What he brings is a spontaneity. He brings a kind of finish that at times we lacked last year. He’s a striker that gets all types of goals. He’s somebody I sat an had a meal with and thought he had signed six months ago, so it was nice that Joe got it over the line this time.

“I still think we’ve got our eye on one or maybe two transfers if possible. We’ve been steady. I think we’ve done it in a good manner.

“You always have to think on your feet in the last hour of the window. Something might come your way, so never say never in terms of the window. In terms of before the start against Manchester City I’m not sure.”

Pardew will hope that isn’t the case as his side lacked a real cutting edge for large spells against Rangers.

The Magpies boss started his strongest team with Tim Krul returning from injury and Hatem Ben Arfa and Papiss Cisse all lining up at Ibrox.

But the Magpies got off the worst possible start with Fabricio Coloccini conceding a penalty after fouling Nicky Clark in the area. Rangers’ veteran Lee McCulloch converted past Krul.

Newcastle were a goal down, but they were dominating the early stages with Jonas Gutierrez and Yohan Cabaye seeing plenty of the ball.

Gutierrez in particular looked lively down the left and after leaving Richard Foster for dead, he advanced to the byline and sent a cross to the back post, but Ben Arfa couldn’t keep his shot down after cutting inside.

The Magpies’ set-pieces came under scrutiny last season, but there were signs they have been working on corners when a clever routine saw Cabaye float a pin-point cross onto the boot of Mathieu Debuchy, who had made a late run from midway in Rangers’ half, but his stinging effort was straight at Cammy Bell.

Pardew will hope Ben Arfa can play a bigger part this season after missing big chunks of the last through injury. The Frenchman certainly looks in good shape, but he endured a frustrating night. He seemed to find a Rangers shirt more often than a Newcastle one, but as ever, the tricky midfielder always looked capable of producing something special.

That moment almost came two minutes before the break when he collected the ball 35 yards out and tried his luck, but unfortunately his effort sailed over.

Pardew made two changes at the interval with Yoan Gouffran coming on for Ben Arfa and Rob Elliot replacing Krul, and he almost conceded straight away when Clark unleashed a rasping drive that had the keeper at full stretch.

The Magpies had created very little in the second half with substitutes Dan Gosling and Shola Ameobi wasted half chances, but as the clock ticked 90 minutes, Sammy Ameobi capitalised on a poor Rangers pass and played in brother Shola, who took a touch before calmly chipping the ball over Bell, his fourth goal in as many during pre-season.

Rangers (4-4-2): Bell; Foster, McCulloch, Mohsni, Wallace (Hegarty 69); Peralta (Aird 78), Black (Crawford, 57), Macleod, Law (Faure 63); Clark (McAusland 63), Daly (Little, 59) (not used): Gallacher, Murdoch, McKay, Gasparotto, Mitchell.

Newcastle (4-2-3-1): Krul (Elliot, 46); Debuchy, Coloccini (Yanga-Mbiwa 73), S.Taylor, Santon (Dummett 64); Tiote (Anita 73), Cabaye (Gosling 80); Sissoko (Marveaux 64), Ben Arfa (Gouffran 46), Gutierrez (Sammy Ameobi); Cissé (Shola Ameobi 73).