Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew is convinced he's striking a strong relationship with Toon owner Mike Ashley.
Pardew believes putting himself and new coach John Carver on five-and-a-half year deals as well as giving long contracts to key players such as midfielders Cheick Tiote and Hatem Ben Arfa is the way forward.
Pardew said: "When I sat down with Mike and Derek Llambias after the Andy Carroll transfer we needed to look each other in the eye afterwards. We said Tiote was the most important player at the club.
"I suggested we needed to sort out Tiote long-term - and Mike didn't hesitate in agreeing with that.
"He's spent a lot of money here - more than the fans think. The model Mike is trying to create of signing up young players on long deals will be replicated by a lot of clubs through the Premier League."
