ALAN PARDEW claims his relationship with Mike Ashley is the key to him making it into his fifth year as manager of Newcastle United.

Next Tuesday marks the fourth anniversary of Pardew’s appointment as Newcastle boss, and while there have been plenty of highs and lows along the way, such longevity is unusual in the volatile arena of football management.

Mark Yates’ recent departure from Cheltenham Town means Pardew is the fourth longest-serving manager at all 92 clubs in the Premier League and Football League, with only Arsene Wenger (Arsenal), Paul Tisdale (Exeter City) and Karl Robinson (MK Dons) having spent longer in their current roles.

Ashley appointed Pardew as Chris Hughton’s successor despite the 53-year-old’s previous position having been with Southampton in League One, and while there have been plenty of opportunities for the Newcastle owner to jettison his boss, most notably at the start of the current campaign, their relationship has remained solid.

Ashley handed Pardew an eight-year contract in September 2012, and for all that controversy has dogged both figures in the intervening period, there has been no sign of a breakdown in trust.

“It’s very important to have a solid relationship with your chairman or owner, and I’ve always had that with Mike,” said Pardew. “At all football clubs, the link between the chairman and manager is very important, and sometimes it can be lost in the wash a little bit.

“Chief executives can get involved, and the relationship can get distant. Me and Mike don’t really have too much communication, but when we do, it’s really constructive. We’ve never had a destructive conversation since I’ve been here. I think that’s very helpful, because at other clubs I have had that.”

The first six months of Pardew’s reign were all about stabilisation, but the following season saw the Newcastle boss enjoy his biggest success in charge of the Magpies as he guided his side to a fifth-placed finish and won the Manager of the Year award.

The side that qualified for Europe has gradually been disassembled, with the likes of Danny Simpson, Yohan Cabaye, Hatem Ben Arfa and Demba Ba moving elsewhere, but while it has taken a couple of seasons for Newcastle to regroup and rebuild, Pardew is hopeful that his current squad will be capable of emulating his most successful line-up to date.

“If I wanted to give some sort of history over the four years, this is probably the third team that I’ve had in terms of a different look,” he said. “There was the one I inherited, the one we built that got us to Europe, and then now this new one.

“I’m quite excited that it’s got a different look to it and different strengths, and as a coach, it’s nice to be able to change with the personnel that you have. Sometimes, the personnel can dictate to you rather than the other way around.

“When we (him Ashley) signed that long contract, I think we both knew there were going to be difficult days as well as good days for us both. It’s credit to both of us (that they have remained intact) because we’ve both had to dig in at times.”