Allardyce desperate to recruit old heads

The former Bolton boss has brought in Joey Barton, David Rozehnal, Mark Viduka and Geremi since replacing Glenn Roeder at St James' Park, with more arrivals expected before the start of the season.

Allardyce saw his side run out 2-0 winners over Serie A side Juventus yesterday, but although a host of academy talent was introduced in the second half of the game - and helped close out an impressive victory against a side which included the likes of Pavel Nedved, David Trezeguet and Vincenzo Iaquinta - he is not ready to rely on those players during the league campaign.

He said: "Pre-season friendlies tend to give false hope. Just because we've beaten Juventus and Celtic doesn't mean we'll start the season well. I certainly wouldn't like to start the season with the players who finished the game.

"When the whistle blows at 3pm it isn't about pretty little football, it's about the nitty gritty that the Premier League brings.

"When the pressure comes on the inexperienced players can fail under that pressure and you need experienced players at the start of the season to cope with that.

"We need to get the players who are injured as fit as possible before the start of the season and then look to the market and bring in some more experienced players."

Andy Carroll, brought on as a first-half replacement for goalscorer Albert Luque who had a minor groin complaint, led the way for the United youngsters, scoring his side's second goal with a calm finish past World Cup-winning goalkeeper Gianluigi Buffon.

"It was an excellent performance, there were a lot of young players out there and they were terrific after the first 10 to 15 minutes where we had a little bit of trouble coping with Juventus's front line," said Allardyce.

"But it's still Juventus and it's still a win. The second goal with young Andy Carroll finishing a terrific shot (from Obafemi Martins) and a great save and then picking up the bits and firing it into the bottom corner was good.

"Then Shay Given had a couple of great saves at the right time and Newcastle have won with a clean sheet. I'm delighted from my point of view that we didn't concede.

"It's very important that we played the game out without conceding and there were a lot of young players who got some experience because of injuries to older players," he added.

One international who looks unlikely to start the season on Tyneside is Kieron Dyer, who played 45 minutes against Juventus but has been given permission to leave the club to be closer to his family.

But Dyer's England team-mate Michael Owen's future at the club looks more secure after former chairman Freddy Shepherd revealed yesterday that the much-publicised £9.5million get-out clause in his Magpies contract expires tomorrow.

With Owen being forced to sit out the victory over Juventus after failing to prove his fitness, the chances of another club forcing through a deal before then appear slim.