Business As Usual for Players As Ashley Moves Closer to Selling Newcastle

As Newcastle United await the arrival of new owners and a new manager, Chris Hughton is striving to conjure an air of normality. While Derek Llambias, Newcastle's managing director, showed representatives of a Malaysian consortium around St James' Park yesterday the caretaker manager insisted it was business as usual on the training ground.

Indeed Hughton maintains that his recently relegated players are perfectly capable of operating successfully in their own hermetically sealed world.

"In many ways it was no different to any other pre-season," said Hughton after welcoming his charges – Joey Barton included – back to training. "The boys went well, the mood was upbeat and I was pleased.

"The players want to get to work. They are professional enough not to let what is happening outside affect them. The focus now is on getting fit but they have looked after themselves well during the summer."

On Sunday Hughton takes Newcastle to Dublin for a week-long training camp culminating in their first friendly, at Shamrock Rovers. By then, Mike Ashley might just have managed to sell the club but nothing is certain.

Although there is no strict timetable for a sale, Seymour Pierce, the investment banker brokering the deal, hopes to receive an offer or offers from consortiums who have been performing due diligence on Newcastle by tomorrow. These will then be passed on to Ashley for the sports goods retailer – who wants £100m for the club – to consider over the weekend, and there may be significant developments by the middle of next week.

While four consortiums signed non-disclosure agreements ahead of entering due diligence, three expressed serious interest in a purchase and, of that trio, two would be keen to install Alan Shearer as manager. The favorites are thought to be an overseas consortium, quite possibly from the United States. However there are several hurdles, both legal and financial, to be surmounted before Ashley finally exits, stage left.