Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew has revealed that he thinks Mike Ashley is "the best chairman" he has ever worked with.

Pardew said that he is left to get on with managing the club and that the only interference Ashley has is to ask Pardew's advice on budget matters.

"He is the best chairman I have had in terms of letting me work," Sky Sports News quotes Pardew as saying.

"He hardly ever bothers me and if he does, it's about a decision involving the budget, questions like, 'Was that a good move?' or 'Could we have paid less?'.

"Outside of the team, very rarely will he stop me and say, 'Why did you sub him at that time?' or 'What's the story with him? Why isn't he playing?' He trusts me and knows I am being fair. I am trying to get the best out of the team."

Pardew has been in charge of Newcastle since December 2010, when he took over from Chris Hughton.