Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew stands by his claim new Liverpool signing Andy Carroll would not be sold.
Pardew now admits that his apparently-defiant stance was nothing more than a tactic aimed at repelling predators.
He said: "Part of my defence which, I have not really leaned on when I said he was not for sale, was me trying to keep people away because people were fishing round him.
"So I was trying to keep the sharks away as much as anything else. I didn't want him to go - that is fairly evident. If the media think that is an embarrassment to me then I will accept that. I just thought it was the right tactic at the time."
