Newcastle boss Alan Pardew says that his role at the club has not changed, despite the appointment of Joe Kinnear as director of football.
Kinnear controversially returned to St James Park in June as part of an overhaul by club owner Mike Ashley, and he will have the final say on transfer spending.
Pardew will report in to the 66-year-old former Wimbledon boss, who also had a spell as Newcastle manager during the 2008-09 campaign.
However, the former Charlton manager has stressed that he will retain control over first-team affairs.
I m my own man, and I will manage this football club to the best of my ability, Pardew told BBC Radio Newcastle.
I spoke to one or two players and my staff here and made them very aware of where the position lies.
If Joe can persuade (owner) Mike (Ashley) to invest in the football club in the right manner then that would be the best outcome for us.
As well as we ve done on the transfer market, there s always room for improvement, and I spoke to Joe and told him where I think the weaknesses in the squad are. I told him I need to strengthen them and I ve got a couple of ideas.
Kinnear s return has led to speculation surrounding both Pardew s position and that of chief scout Graham Carr, but Pardew quickly moved to clarify the new structure at the club and expressed his hope that the squad would be improved ahead of the new season.
Between myself, (club secretary) Lee (Charnley) and Joe we hope to get some transfers over the line, and some out by the way, because the squad is probably a little thick in some areas, he added.
Graham comes up with one or two suggestions, I come up with the same, we probably have a list of four that myself and Graham think will take the team forward, we present that to Joe, and he presents it to the owner.
Joe has to dress that up for the chairman in terms of the finance, in terms of how it will work and then Lee comes in and hopefully we get the player over the line.
