Premier League: Newcastle boss Alan Pardew aware of pressure
Thursday 18 September 2014 11:20, UK
Alan Pardew admits both he and his Newcastle United squad have to 'stand up and deliver' as the pressure mounts at St James' Park.
The under-fire boss is reported to be on borrowed time after overseeing a dismal start to the 2014/15 campaign.
Four games into the new Premier League season, Newcastle find themselves rooted to the foot of the division – still searching for their first win and having scored in just one fixture so far.
I don’t know about patience. This is a time to stand up and deliver.
A 4-0 drubbing at the hands of Southampton last weekend was the final straw for many supporters, with calls for Pardew to be relieved of his duties growing in intensity.
A home date with Hull City on Saturday has now taken on added importance, with Pardew aware of the need to offer a positive response as he seeks to improve on a dismal record which has delivered just five victories in the calendar year.
He said: “I don’t know about patience. This is a time to stand up and deliver.
“We have a home game against Hull where the pressure’s really going to be on us.
“Southampton was tough to take.
“As a group and individually we’re better than that and I take responsibility.
“It was a heavy defeat. It was a tough day for our fans, a tough day for the team and, certainly, a tough day for me.
“The worry is how many goals are we going to score? We need to find a formula which will get us some goals.
“We’ve spoken about how important making a good start against Hull is because that’s something we haven’t been doing.”
As the problems pile up for Pardew, he has revealed that summer signing Siem de Jong could be out of action until the New Year after undergoing surgery on a thigh complaint.
He said: “I’m suggesting, certainly, he won’t be back for the next three months.
“After that it could be any time, really.”
