ALAN PARDEW

Americans are analytical in their sports, which are very stop-start, so the numbers tend to add up. That's why Moneyball works for baseball. It doesn't work so well for football because it's a fluid game.

A player's mentality is very important. The five or 10 per cent where they're not focused because of wanting to go somewhere is enough for them to haul off their quality. It impacts on everything. So, as a board and manager, you have to make a decision.

If you're in the middle of a field, surrounded by armies, left right and centre, you can't just say: 'I've had enough now, sorry.'

Crystal Palace were my first club and one I hold dear to my heart.

The technical director's role is very important - not just on contracts, not just on signing players and seeing through the philosophy but also in taking a bit of weight off the manager.

I didn't listen to half of the criticism I received. I just didn't let it enter my brain.

I'm the football manager of Newcastle, which is owned by Mike Ashley.

For managers like me what is our dream? Is it what I did with Newcastle when we finished fifth? Or what Roy Hodgson did in taking Fulham to the Europa League final?

I consider this to be one of the biggest jobs in the country and to get the opportunity to be the manager of Newcastle is not something I'm going to give up lightly.

At West Ham I had a fantastic relationship with the board but I was really upset with them when they sold the club without telling me. I then had new owners I didn't get on particularly well with.

But what I'm not is someone who just comes in and becomes a lapdog to the board. Anyone who knows my personality knows that's not me.

Does it help Dutch teams in the Champions League because they don't have to be at it in the league? I think it does. I experienced the disparity.

Success can be a legacy.

I've been a manager in the Premier League for many years and you do become conservative when you're in that bottom section. There's so much stress, because it is so important and there's so much scrutiny.

The only gambling I do is on a Saturday afternoon when I might put on two wingers or two strikers.

If I'm going to work in Holland I would like to have more of a chance to do something in the league, because a Europa League place might be slightly easier to target than in England.

At Newcastle, I had a team at the bottom of the table with a crowd that was very angry at what had gone on at the club for a period of time.

For anything in your life, you have to be focused on what is the goal.

I'm the football manager. I make all the football decisions that evolve around the game that's being played on a Saturday.

As a manager you're going to have some bad times, some really bad times. If you're going to walk away, then in my view you do not have the make-up to be a manager or a leader of men.

I did almost take a job in China because I thought it might be good for me to go abroad and experience what I think the best coaches in the Premier League have had. It helps you learn. You have to evolve.

In the search for a new challenge I'm glad that I came across ADO Den Haag.

I remember the chief executive at Southampton after Nicola Cortese thanking me for the platform I left them. That recognition is always nice. That's like winning a trophy for me.

I experienced great professionalism in Dutch football. I don't want to give a stereotypical view of them, but they are needy in terms of wanting to know exactly what the game plan is, what their role is, that information.

I always ask two questions when we are closing in on a deal: What currency are we dealing in and how many people are expecting to get paid as part of this transfer?