Newcastle boss Pardew: I know very little about Europa League opponents Metalist

21-Dec-2012 12:20:00 AM

The Magpies face a difficult trip to Eastern Europe to play the winners of Group K, but their manager has admitted that the team ranked third in Ukraine are a mystery to him

Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has admitted that he is in the dark over his side's Europa League opponents Metalist Kharkiv, and does not know much about the Ukrainian side.

The Magpies were drawn against the winners of Group K in the last 32 of the competition, with Myron Markevych's side having out-muscled Bayer Leverkusen to finish in top spot.

When asked how much he knew about their next opponents, Pardew told Sky Sports: "Not much, really.

"I do know it's a long journey, I've had a look at that, and they won their group, so it's a tough agenda for us.

"It's a tough draw in terms of travel; the opposition, I know very little about. I can't even comment on that until such time as we do some studying."

Russian side Anzhi potentially lie in wait for the Magpies should they manage to defeat Metalist, meaning another difficult trip to Eastern Europe for Pardew's men.

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