Danny's still in dark on future; Simpson is still in the dark on future.

Byline: Mark Douglas 

DANNY Simpson is desperate to further his footballing education at Newcastle United after admitting that he has only fulfilled a fraction of his potential during a three-month stint at St James' Park.

The on-loan defender would love to convert his temporary switch into a permanent move in January, but admits he has no idea whether Chris Hughton is prepared to use a sizeable portion of his transfer budget to make it happen.

The Journal understands that tentative enquiries have been made to Manchester United, but with just a few weeks of his loan spell left, that message has apparently not been transmitted to the player himself.

The uncertainty appears to be having little effect on his football, however, with Simpson one of the most consistent performers during United's tabletopping start to the season.

It has been enough to convince most black and white observers that he is worth the pounds 1.5million asking price.

But having been brought up in the Manchester United tradition of rigorous self-analysis, Simpson has declared himself far from satisfied with his form.

He believes he should be having more of an attacking impact during games and feels with more regular football he will improve.

"I still think there''s more to come from me. I think I can do better and that will come with more games," he said.

"We always get our statistics back and I think there''s room for improvement.

"I want to score more goals, get more assists, be more influential in our attacking play. And I want more clean sheets as well.

"But yeah, I''m really enjoying my football, which you can probably tell. I''ve still got a long way to go."

It helps that Simpson, after three loan spells in the last three seasons, feels at home in the North East.

Some loan signings struggle to settle and integrate into the squad, but that is clearly not the case with Simpson, who is making the most of the chance for regular first-team football with a club that has made him feel welcome.

"I have settled really, really well.

Newcastle feels like home - I feel like I''m part of it here," he said.

"Obviously I''m not but I feel like I am. The longer my loan spell goes on, the more I like it here.

"I''m getting to know everyone, building relationships and friendships with people. I''m enjoying it on the pitch and off it, too."

Hughton has remained tight-lipped on the prospect of recruiting Simpson permanently, partially for fear of driving up Manchester United's valuation of their homegrown defender. But it leaves the player in a difficult position - hoping the move will happen while being diplomatic enough not to alienate his parent club in case he is forced to return to Old Trafford. His way of coping with the doubt is to force Hughton's hand by continuing to turn in fine performances. "No-one has said anything to me about January yet. I'm still waiting," he said. "I don't know what the situation is, but all I can do is keep playing well, keep performing and do my best for Newcastle. I just let my agent, the business people here and everyone else settle that. "I don't want to get caught up in that really, my focus has to be on training well and playing well. "I'm not going to go knocking on the manager's door. It's best I don't think about it - it's about doing the best I can on the pitch. "As long as I'm doing well and the fans are supporting me, I'm doing my job. I'm sure things will sort themselves out by January."