Southampton have warned Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew off star striker Rickie Lambert.

Toon boss Pardew is ready to raid old club Saints for top-scorer Lambert when the transfer window reopens next week.

He brought Lambert, 29, to Southampton from Bristol Rovers two years ago for a bargain £1.2million and has followed his progress ever since.

Saints manager Nigel Adkins said: ''Rickie has been excellent for us and if we keep creating chances he will score.

''I can understand why Premier League teams might be looking at our players but we would not welcome any interest.

''We have got a group of players here who are all under long-term contracts and they want to get this fantastic club back into the Premier League.

''We've got ourselves in a great position to achieve that and look forward to the second half of the season with confidence.''