Alan's Appeal

Alan Pardew will appeal against the straight sending off of Jermain Defoe on Saturday which could lead to a five match ban.

Having had time to review the incident, Alan says:

"My feelings are still pretty much the same as they were on Saturday when I was pretty upset - and had a lot of frustration in me.

"I still feel Jermain didn't touch the fellow and it certainly didn't warrant a straight red - which I will be appealing against this morning.

"The worst you could throw at him was over exuberance - he certainly wasn't high with his tackle and he made a genuine attempt for the ball though he entered the tackle fast.

"Maybe a second booking and a sending off but certainly not a straight red because from where I was standing and having seen the video I don't think he made contact with the boy, so there you go."

As for the question of whether Sean Gregan playacted to get Jermain sent off, Alan says diplomatically:

"That is up to his conscience and I don't know that for sure.

"All I am implying is that from what I have seen I think Jermain made a genuine attempt for the ball and didn't catch the player."

If an appeal is not successful, Jermain - who would receive three games for the red card itself, one for being sent off before this season, and one for reaching five yellow cards as he had been booked earlier in the game - will miss the Watford game first and then not be back until the Sunderland match.