ALAN PARDEW will detail the need to keep skipper Fabricio Coloccini when he holds his end-of-season debrief with Newcastle United owner Mike Ashley.
While Premier League survival is now assured thanks to Sunday's 2-1 win at QPR, Ashley is determined to avoid a repeat of this season's struggles next term.
Despite mounting speculation over Pardew's future, The Northern Echo understands there is little likelihood of a change of manager this summer, with Ashley and managing director Derek Llambias keen to avoid wholesale upheaval.
Pardew has been instructed to compile a detailed assessment of what went wrong this season, and outline ways of improving things ahead of the start of a new campaign, but that is more about planning for the future than assessing the merits of a manager who signed an eight-year deal as recently as September.
Having placed their faith in Pardew then, Llambias and Ashley are reluctant to jettison the former Reading, Charlton, West Ham and Southampton boss despite this season's under-achievement and the misgivings of a significant proportion of the Newcastle support.
Pardew is confident he will still be in charge at the start of next season, and is intent on assembling a squad that boasts considerably more depth than the one he has been working with this term.
He will be keen to make additions this summer, but will also have to decide whether to sell any of the players who are already attracting interest from elsewhere.
Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa have been strongly linked with possible returns to France - Paris St Germain scouts are known to have watched both players on a number of occasions this season - while Tim Krul has also been the subject of considerable attention for a number of weeks.
However, it is Coloccini's future that is the most pressing issue, with the defender having outlined a desire to return to his native Argentina for personal reasons in January.
His pleas were rejected at the turn of the year, but he is set to press for a transfer again this summer.
Forcing him to remain on Tyneside for another season is not without its problems, but Pardew is expected to argue for that course of action when he meets Ashley later this month.
It is no coincidence that the 31-year-old's return heralded two of Newcastle's best defensive away displays of the season at West Ham and QPR, and it is feared that it would be impossible to replace Coloccini's ability and influence without incurring a major financial deficit.
"We've missed him (Coloccini)," Pardew admitted, in the wake of Sunday's win at Loftus Road. "I don't know what our record is like when he doesn't play, but he makes such a big difference to us.
"He had accusations thrown at him from certain websites that he wasn't bothered. You can't say something like that about someone like him."Did you see him when Hatem gave the ball away in the second half? He went absolutely ballistic. It meant so much to him, and it's great to see that from your captain. He was magnificent."
Ironically, since being instructed to remain in the North-East at the end of the January transfer window, Coloccini has spent a considerable period of time in Argentina recuperating from a back injury.
He was given permission to travel to South America to complete his recovery, but has now been back in England for the best part of a month.
He has refused to discuss his personal situation, although it is understood the issues that prompted January's transfer discussions have not been resolved.
His contract is not to due to expire until the end of the 2015-16 season, so it will be interesting to see how he responds if he is instructed to see out the remainder of his deal.
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