Ashley was always open about the masterplan, and Tioté’s new contract fits it. That his deal is one year longer than the norm anoints him as the post-Carroll figurehead. Ashley’s idea is to identify young talent, rather than squander bigger transfer fees on established names.

The Transfer League website has Newcastle as the Premier League’s lowest net spenders in the last five years (Ashley has been at the helm for four), but Tioté, Taylor, Ranger, Williamson and Carroll all came through the academy or were signed for a relative pittance, and once they proved their worth, were suitably rewarded.

Whether you agree with the strategy or not – and Ashley is unlikely to win any popularity contests on Tyneside – he is sticking to it. Now, though, with Liverpool’s loot burning a hole in his back pocket, the pressure is on to do something he has not since Fabricio Coloccini’s arrival in 2008, and sanction a substantial transfer fee. “If you want to go forward you have to keep your good players and buy some good players,” warned Tioté yesterday.

“I want to play in the top five. If you don’t have ambition it’s not good. Newcastle is a big club.”

It was a theme echoed by Pardew. “We have got a surplus of cash to buy in the summer and if I was looking around the dressing room I’d be thinking we’ve got a good side, as we’ve proved since Andy’s left,” he argued.

“If we can improve on that with signings like Cheick and some new players we could be a force next year, and that’s what we hope to be.

“We’ve got José Enríque to talk to (about a new contract), we’ve got Joey (Barton), who has about 18 months left, who we still have to secure hopefully, and one or two others in the group.”

Pardew sees the next eight days – when Newcastle entertain Bolton, then Everton – as pivotal in deciding whether the Magpies can be the European qualifiers Tioté hopes. Fifth might be pushing it, but a League Cup win for Arsenal tomorrow will ensure sixth is good enough for the Europa League, and an FA Cup win for any of the eventual top-six will lower the mark.

Is that an achievable aim for the team ninth in the Premier League this morning? “I don’t think I can answer that until after the Everton game,” said Pardew. “These two games are crucial home games against two clubs who are mid-table Europe-aspiring teams. I’d like to have that question after Everton and if we win both, I’ll answer it.

“Like any team who are mid-table, you have aspirations of squeezing into Europe. We managed to do it at West Ham by getting to the Cup final (in 2006), and the top teams winning the trophies.

“Looking at the quality of the squad it’s better than what I had at West Ham. There’s no reason why it can’t, it’s just about belief, momentum and bringing good players in.”

Make that three statements of intent.