Allardyce reveals squad concerns

Allardyce was appointed Newcastle manager in May

Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce says he is desperate to add to his squad before the start of the Premiership season.

Allardyce wants to improve his options after Newcastle ended Sunday's 2-0 pre-season friendly win over Juventus with a host of youngsters on the pitch.

"We are still very much in the transfer market," said Allardyce. "We're still after experienced, quality players.

"If we started the season with the same side that ended this match it would be a disaster. We're light on numbers."

He added: "The boys played well but it doesn't change anything - we're still short of players."

606: DEBATE We have been impressive in friendlies but our squad is nowhere near good enough to last until January electricnutter8

Allardyce has so far signed David Rozehnal, Geremi, Joey Barton and Mark Viduka since taking over the St James' Park hotseat in May.

He is set to lose midfielder Kieron Dyer, who is still likely to leave the club because he wants to live closer to his family's home in Ipswich, despite playing for 45 minutes against Juventus.

"We used him because we were short and he played very well," stated Allardyce. "But I don't think we can keep him, for the reasons I gave last week.

"The only way I can see to resolve this is for Kieron to move closer to his family.

"Nobody has come in with the right money yet. Nobody has offered anything like the money we want.

"If they don't come in with the right offer then all I can do is sit down with Kieron and see if there's something else we can do."

Meanwhile, it looks increasingly likely that England striker Michael Owen will start the season as a Newcastle player.

Former Magpies chairman Freddy Shepherd revealed on Sunday that Owen's £9.5m get-out clause ends on Tuesday.

Unless a club rushes through a deal over the next couple of days, Owen will be staying at St James' Park.