Alan Pardew upbeat over chances of Fabricio Coloccini remaining at Newcastle

Captain has asked to leave St James' Park

Newcastle captain Fabricio Coloccini (GETTY IMAGES)

Alan Pardew is hopeful he can convince Fabricio Coloccini to stay at Newcastle this month.

Pardew said today there would be further meetings to try and persuade his captain not to return home to Argentina as a result of "personal matters".

"We're going to sit down next week and hopefully iron out the issues and come to a conclusion where Colo stays," Pardew said.

The manager added he was "surprised and disappointed" Loïc Rémy had opted to sign for QPR rather than Newcastle. He said: "It was a little strange. We put a lot of work into it. We made his club Marseilles an offer that was accepted and made a fantastic offer to the player."