Premier League: Newcastle should stay loyal to Pardew

Alan Pardew is under pressure at Newcastle

After a humiliating 6-0 defeat to Liverpool, the knives are out for Alan Pardew but this is no time to give up on their boss writes Christian Crowther...

Newcastle's second embarrassing home defeat on the spin, in which they were smashed for six by Liverpool, has seen the Toon dip their toe into Premier League relegation quicksand.

However, although the Magpies are now back in danger of the plunge - rated at 12.011/1 to go down - owner Mike Ashley should not be tempted into a reactionary squeeze on the trigger.

The man he would be firing, Alan Pardew, signed an eight-year contract off the back of Newcastle's best finish in the Premier League since 2003/04 last campaign, so it would make owner and club the laughing stock should he cast his man aside now.

It's no coincidence that Newcastle's wildly differing fortunes over recent years have been underpinned by one of the hottest managerial seats in the land.

Inadvertently, Pardew's biggest mistake at Newcastle so far was probably leading the Toon to that fifth-place finish last season. This highly commendable achievement has actually ended up causing Pardew a painful headache.

He's not only raised the bar of expectation to an unsustainable height, but with such a tight squad at his disposal, their resulting Europa League commitments have stretched things to breaking point.

While Pardew is far from beyond criticism for the Magpies' miserable league campaign, certain circumstances out of his control have contributed heavily to it.

For a start, his squad has been ravaged by injury since the very beginning of this campaign, especially in those vital defensive positions.

Ryan Taylor, Tim Krul, Fabricio Coloccini, James Perch, Mike Williamson, Danny Simpson and latterly David Santon have all missed many games due to injury.

Meanwhile, two of their most creative talents in French duo Yohan Cabaye and Hatem Ben Arfa were sidelined for lengthy spells, adding to the inconsistency of team selection.

Although Pardew targeted certain players in the summer, it wasn't until January - after the gruelling group stages of the Europa League had already taken place and ground had been lost in the Premier League - that he was able to capture the likes of Mathieu Debuchy.

He was also helpless in losing his top scorer Demba Ba to Chelsea in the same month and, while Papiss Cisse has notched a few latterly, Ba's compatriot is nothing like as reliable a source of goals.

For a while, the influx of French talent in January looked like it would turn the Toon's season around but they have since dropped off, something Pardew must shoulder some blame for.

Still, it would be foolish to sack the man who bought all these players to the club. Pardew must be backed not sacked and, if they stay up by the skin of their teeth, then next season should be much better for Newcastle.