Newcastle United boss Sam Allardyce has explained why he had to buy outside the Premiership to strengthen his defence.

He signed defenders David Rozenhal, Habib Beye, Claudio Cacapa, Abdoulaye Faye and spent £6million on Jose Enrique - but the back four has conceded seven goals in the last two home games.

Big Sam said: "I was after Mikael Silvestre (Manchester United), Sylvain Distin (Portsmouth) and Tal Ben Haim (Chelsea). Once your first targets have gone, you look elsewhere. Your only option is to look at what's available in the foreign markets."