In for the long haul?

I doubt that, over the last few years, anyone expressing the need and desire for stability and consolidation at the club has had JFK in mind as the man for the job. But now it seems as though we could be stuck with him beyond the end of the season.

In amongst claiming to be loving his time back in the limelight, on the training pitch and in the dugout (or, more often, the stands...) and suggesting a permanent move to Tyneside might hinge on the feelings of his family, JFK described the contract he's been offered as "very lucrative" - so, should he accept, the decision could well be made primarily for mercenary reasons.

Like Little Saint Mick, though, it seems as though he's going to put off further negotiations until the end of the season: "I said to [Ashley and Derek Llambias] that first and foremost, we have to work hard and establish ourselves as a Premier League side and get away from the relegation fight. I really don't need any more distractions than that. What I suggested to the club was that we all sit down in the summer and look at each other and say what direction do we want to take the club in, refinancing it, letting players go and bringing in my own players." Of course, by that point (and perish the thought) we could have lost our top-flight status, which would presumably see the unsigned contract taken off the table and swiftly shredded...