Big Sam will take over early next week on a contract which could be worth £3million a year.

Allardyce said afterwards: “It was a good meeting and my agent will speak to Newcastle again over the next few days to discuss matters further.”

That will simply be to fine-tune the contract details before Newcastle make an official announcement.

Shepherd added to pals: “The club needs a lift and Sam is the nearest I’ve seen to a replica of Joe Harvey.”

Harvey was the last manager to bring silverware to Tyneside by winning the old Fairs Cup — the forerunner to the UEFA Cup — back in 1969.

Shepherd also said: “I’m excited, Sam’s excited and we’re looking forward to making this work.

“We had a good meeting and we will continue discussions over the weekend but everything went OK. You don’t wrap up something like this in two minutes.”

Speculation has been rife Big Sam was being lined up for the St James’ hotseat but SunSport’s pictures are the first concrete evidence.

Allardyce quit Bolton after eight years as boss just two weeks ago. The next week, Glenn Roeder was axed as Toon manager. Shepherd then set to work on landing Allardyce.

He contacted Bolton chairman Phil Gartside yesterday. Gartside did not pick up the call so Shepherd left a message.

Shepherd had promised he would let Gartside know if he wanted Allardyce.

It will be a case of third-time lucky for Newcastle in their pursuit of Big Sam.

A combination of his loyalty to Bolton and Shepherd’s reluctance to get into a poaching row have stopped it happening before.