SAM ALLARDYCE'S rebuilding programme has been given the green light to go for first base, after Bolton reluctantly granted Newcastle United permission to speak to one of his key lieutenants.

Mark Taylor, head of sports science and medicine at the Reebok Stadium, has been singled out by the new Magpies boss as the ideal man to eradicate the club's long-standing poor injury record.

And Taylor, originally from the North-East before his playing career took him to the west of the country, could begin talks with Newcastle before the end of the week.

The 42-year-old, born in Hartlepool where he started his professional career, making 53 appearances in the mid 1980s, is one of the key figures in Bolton's 20-strong backroom staff which was formed by Newcastle's new boss.

Allardyce is stepping up his attempts to transform Newcastle's behind-the-scenes approach and he views Taylor as one of the ideal men to carry out his plan.

He also hopes to bring in Bolton's performance director, Mike Forde, who is another of the 52-year-old's key allies in Lancashire and someone he views as integral to the changes he wants to implement.

Bolton are keen to ensure the aftermath of Allardyce's departure goes as smoothly as possible after his seven and a half years at the helm, so they are determined to keep the key figures of their coaching set-up on board.

That is why they are trying to retain the services of at least one of the two, with Taylor likely to arrive first with Forde possibly moving over at a later date.

Allardyce had considered taking Phil Brown to Newcastle as his assistant but the Hull City boss committed himself to a 12-month rolling contract at the KC Stadium yesterday. Now Carlisle's Neil McDonald is the front-runner.

Taylor is viewed as being capable of bringing down the number of players to have found their way onto the treatment table this season.

"I have been given reassurances about how many people I can bring in," said Allardyce, without naming names.

"I want to recreate an atmosphere that is a pleasure to come to.

"So I will look around the training ground quickly and improve that facility.

"It is a fantastic facility but there is always room for improvement.

"It might be a picture here, a window there, it might be a personal touch."

Michael Owen, Kieron Dyer and Damien Duff are just three names on a long list to have spent spells on the sidelines over the past nine months and Allardyce wants Taylor to ensure the number of injuries is significantly reduced.

A former winger with Blackpool, where he started his career as a physio, Taylor has progressed through the ranks to become one of the brightest and most reputable in his profession.

He has had a key role to play in Bolton's dietary values, while he will be given freedom to help implement his own ideas provided they are designed to help Newcastle improve fitness and, ultimately, performance.

Those methods have been integral to Bolton's recent successes and Allardyce feels bringing such innovative ideas to Newcastle will reap rewards.

It will not be just on the field that Allardyce knows changes are required and defensively - after informing Titus Bramble, Oguchi Onyewu, Olivier Bernard and Craig Moore they can leave - the need is urgent.

But, after Juventus emerged over the weekend as a genuine option for Obafemi Martins to head back to Italy, Allardyce's search for a new striker could become almost equally as pressing.

Martins, a £10m signing from Inter Milan last summer, had to apologise for a misunderstanding' ahead of Newcastle's final match of the season at Watford, when he claimed he was injured after being omitted from the starting line-up.

And Juventus, the former Italian champions who returned to Serie A at the weekend following their promotion from Serie B, are believed to be weighing up a substantial offer for the Nigerian.

Although Martins has been inconsistent in the Premiership, the fact remains his 17 goals - 11 in the Premiership - offers a better record than most strikers in the English top tier.

One of Martins, who only scored in one of Newcastle's final ten matches, or Owen could be offloaded this summer and Arsenal are interested in both.