Sam Allardyce will be confirmed as Newcastle United manager next week after a three-hour meeting with chairman Freddy Shepherd yesterday.
The Sun says the pair lunched at posh Claridge's in London. Shepherd told friends at the restaurant: "We want Sam's determination, enthusiasm and ability to lift the club."
Big Sam will take over early next week on a contract which could be worth £3million a year.
Allardyce said afterwards: "It was a good meeting and my agent will speak to Newcastle again over the next few days to discuss matters further."
That will simply be to fine-tune the contract details before Newcastle make an official announcement.
Shepherd added to pals: "The club needs a lift and Sam is the nearest I've seen to a replica of Joe Harvey."
Harvey was the last manager to bring silverware to Tyneside by winning the old Fairs Cup - the forerunner to the UEFA Cup - back in 1969.
Shepherd also said: "I'm excited, Sam's excited and we're looking forward to making this work.
"We had a good meeting and we will continue discussions over the weekend but everything went OK. You don't wrap up something like this in two minutes."
Subject: Newcastle chairman Shepherd settles on Sam 
Sat May 12, 2007 3:02 am
