SAM Allardyce last night admitted that his first job as Newcastle manager will be to cast off the shroud of "negativity" that enveloped the club last season.

With Mike Ashley having confirmed his intention to take the Magpies back into private hands next month, Allardyce is keen to portray his arrival at St James' Park as the beginning of a new era.

The capture of Mark Viduka and Joey Barton has generated a positive momentum within the opening month of his reign, but supporters scarred by last season's failings are understandably reluctant to commit their wholehearted support to the latest in a long line of 'new beginnings'.

Memories of mass demonstrations outside the Milburn Stand remain painful, while the sight of Newcastle fans booing their own players - most notably former skipper Scott Parker and England international Kieron Dyer - was enough to drive a wedge between sections of the fanbase and elements of the club's playing staff.

Allardyce's task is to heal those divisions ahead of the start of the new campaign, a challenge that ultimately proved too much for his predecessor, Glenn Roeder.

"Let's be honest, it's been more than a couple of years of negativity," admitted the 52-year-old, who has been linked with a possible move for Sevilla striker Fredi Kanoute. "(Newcastle) haven't had enough top-six finishes in the last ten years for whatever reason. This club has not been as successful as it should have been.

"It's been a hugely frustrating time and that's what makes it such a difficult job for me. There have been a lot of managers who have preceded me who have done their best. They've had a real go, but it hasn't worked out."

Newcastle supporters have long revelled in their reputation as one of the most passionate sets of fans in the country, but with that passion comes an expectancy level that is difficult to square with an increasingly polarised Premiership.

A top-four finish is often seen as a minimum requirement - a situation that is hardly helped by chairman Freddy Shepherd's repeated assertions of his club's lofty status on the European stage - and a number of players have struggled to cope with the demands that are made of them.

Parker, who has recently joined West Ham, was a case in point, and Allardyce has admitted that any signings this summer will have to have proved that they are capable of surviving the unique pressures of life on Tyneside.

"I've talked to Gary Speed before and this is a great place to play if you're winning, but it can be a daunting place if you're losing," he explained. "The players have to know the expectations of the fans.

"The fans vote with their feet here, even when things aren't going well, they still attend games, they still fill the stadium. A lot of fans would just stay away, but the flip side of that is that Newcastle fans show their disapproval if they don't think players are playing well.

"That is what you have to live with when you play here. We have to be very careful about the player's character that we bring to this big and very famous football club."

Emre's agent has criticised Lord Stevens' Quest team for failing to travel to Turkey to question him in person before naming him in last Friday's report into alleged transfer irregularities.

Emre's £3.8m move to Newcastle from Inter Milan was one of 17 transfers that Stevens refused to clear after he was "unable to obtain the co-operation" of the player's agent, Ahmet Bulut.

"I don't know anything about the inquiry as I am not living in England," said Bulut. "I am registered in Istanbul. Maybe this inquiry is famous in England, but I know nothing about it.

"If somebody sends a letter to you in Istanbul from England and asks you questions, you would not write anything back either. Why did they not come to speak to me in person?

"What I did in the transfer of Emre was clear from our side and from Newcastle's side. Everything is clear."