Allardyce sets mould for Newcastle's future

One of Sam Allardyce's first tasks as manager of Newcastle United will be to return to Bolton Wanderers to recruit key members of the backroom staff assembled there during his eight years as manager. Another of them is to sign Joey Barton from Manchester City, a move that will be deemed controversial.

Mark Taylor, Bolton's head of sports science, and Mike Forde, performance director, are the two most significant individuals Allardyce is to request join him at St James' Park and the early signs are that despite Bolton's attempts to persuade the two men to stay, they wish to leave Lancashire for Tyneside.

Allardyce, who is to sign a £3 million per annum four-year contract, and who is to be unveiled tomorrow or Wednesday, will infuriate Bolton with his pursuit of Taylor and Forde as well as other members of the 21-man backroom staff he built gradually at the club.

Bolton can be expected to fight Newcastle, but it is an apparent sign of Allardyce's strength on arrival at St James' that he has convinced the Newcastle board of the value and importance of his Bolton blueprint.

Newcastle have no track record of investment in such infrastructure and if that is doubled with an effective transfer kitty, then Allardyce will have a scope of authority beyond several of his predecessors under the current owners.

"Building the infrastructure was always the most important thing," Allardyce said yesterday of his backroom staff at Bolton. He was speaking for the first time since it became clear that he would become the next manager at Newcastle.

"Building the staff meant (at Bolton) we had no money for players. Fortunately I knew the system, I knew that outside this country good-quality players were being released from clubs who wanted you to take them on loan and pay some of their wages. It enabled me to bring in high-class players like Ivan Campo, Bruno N'Gotty, Youri Djorkaeff and Fernando Hierro."

A sense of momentum thus marks Newcastle's end of season but there is serious doubt as to Michael Owen's future with the club. Owen is said to be less than impressed with chairman Freddy Shepherd's public rebuke over "loyalty" last week.

• Guardian Service