Alan Pardew Set To Be Sacked After Another Humiliating Newcastle Defeat

Alan Pardew looks set to be the first managerial casualty of the new Premier League season after his Newcastle side succumbed to yet another humiliating defeat.

The Magpies lost 4-0 to Southampton on Saturday, which now leaves them with just 2 points from their first four games, and the abuse that was aimed towards Pardew by the club’s supporters at the match proves that he is now living on borrowed time.

Two goals in the first 20 minutes of the match from Southampton’s summer signing, Graziano Pelle, basically secured the south-coast teams victory in the early stages. These were then followed by strikes from Jack Cork and Morgan Schneiderlin, while Pardew simply had to sit back and watch his players struggle all to a chorus of Newcastle fans chanting for his sacking.

After the match, Pardew told the BBC, that he is still “up for the fight” of being Newcastle manager, while he added: “I’m trying to do the job to the best of my ability.”

Discussing the defeat, Pardew tried to find positives in the myriad of issues that had plagued his side’s performance.

“We made individual mistakes that we couldn’t absorb. We have to take that as a team. We had a great chance at 2-0 and half a chance after that. We have played OK at the start of the season and really got caught out today.”

The former Southampton and Reading manger also revealed that his team’s preparation hadn’t been the best before the game too.

“We didn’t have long to prepare after the internationals but there’s no excuse really. The players tried everything at 2-0. We just caught at the start. The criticisms from the fans are fair. You can’t get beat 4-0 – I’ve had a few of those at the club. We have to be strong and tough it out. We have to put ourselves on the line and be brave. We have more quality than we showed today.”

When he was asked about the intense scrutiny he has been under all week long before the game, Pardew noted, “It’s not going to help because the performances from the start put us on the backfoot. The fans were on us from the start, on me in particular, that didn’t help the situation. The game got away from us.”

There have already been various rumors that Steve Bruce, who manages Hull City and was previously in charge at Newcastle’s bitter rivals, Sunderland, could be handed the job if Pardew is sacked over the next few days.

[Image via Football365]