Exiled to train with Newcastle's second string and at odds with his manager and team-mates, the future doesn't look particularly bright for Hatem Ben Arfa at St James' Park. After being excluded from the squad for the defeats to Swansea and Arsenal, the Frenchman was the subject of further punishment by Alan Pardew this week after being ordered to join the Magpies' reserve squad instead of preparing with the senior side for the visit of relegation haunted Cardiff on Saturday. It's another clear indication that Ben Arfa's four-year stay on Tyneside will be terminated in the summer, despite the player himself expressing a wish to stay at the club even if Pardew is still in charge next season in an interview with several national newspapers. Mark Douglas - chief sports writer at the Journal - labelled the 27-year-old a 'cause célèbre' for the beleaguered Toon boss but Ben Arfa is determined to regain Pardew's trust, citing it as the key to rebuilding his shattered morale and insisting their relationship not beyond repair. "I feel sad and frustrated but not angry," he told the Guardian after being forced to watch from home as we waved the white flag at the Emirates Stadium on Monday. "I think I could make a difference and I'd like to try. I think Pardew believes in me, but he doesn't show it. I don't know why. He needs to give me more confidence to build my best game because, at the moment, I don't have that." "If the manager says he doesn't believe in me for next season I don't care. I want to stay because I'll show him I can play here but if the president wants to sell me I have to go." All is not lost in the mind of Ben Arfa and he is desperate to deliver silverware and even Champions League football for Newcastle's loyal supporters, even challenging Mike Ashley to fund the signings required to lift us to the level we're currently marooned at. "If we want to be in the top four we have to sign some good players," he added. "I'm hurting because everything is here the supporters are the best, along with Liverpool's. The stadium's amazing, the city's good, everybody loves football, there's passion, everything is here." "I like the owner and I want to stay," he added. "My dream is to get into the Champions League next season with Newcastle or win a cup. We'll see."
