Alan Pardew has said it is “fair” that Newcastle fans called for him to be sacked during the side’s dismal 4-0 mauling at Southampton on Saturday, while he called on his players to “be brave” and “tough it out”.

The Magpies were thrashed by the same scoreline at St Mary’s for the second successive season as a brace from Saints’ summer signing Graziano Pelle and one apiece from Jack Cork and Morgan Schneiderlin sealed the points.

The result leaves Pardew’s men rooted to the foot of the Premier League table with just two points from their opening four games, while fans unveiled a banner with ‘Pardew Out’ daubed across it in front of watching owner Mike Ashley.

The 53-year-old was also the subject of further protests and chants from the visiting fans and he had no complaints afterwards.
“(The protests) are fair because you can’t get beaten 4-0 as Newcastle manager. I’ve had it a few times at this club and it’s tough to take,” Pardew said.

“It’s not easy to digest and it’s not easy for the players to play under those circumstances.

“We have to be strong and try and tough it out this week. We have to be brave. We have a bit more quality than what we showed today.”
On the game itself Pardew also had no complaints, as he added: “The best team won. They were better than us. We made individual mistakes and we were well beaten.

“We have to take it as a team .We never got a chance to get back into the game today. That’s how it goes when you’re on a bit of a bad run.”

Newcastle are 2.09 to bounce back with a first win of the season when Hull visit St James’ Park next Saturday. Steve Bruce’s Tigers are 3.23 to win and the draw is 3.21.