Under-pressure Pardew calls for improvement

Alan Pardew has issued a rallying cry to his Newcastle United players, insisting it is time they “stand up and deliver”.

Pardew’s men are rooted to the bottom of the Premier League table having picked up just two points from their opening four games.

The pressure is certainly building on the manager, who attracted the ire of away fans as Newcastle fell to a 4-0 loss at Southampton last weekend.

And Pardew is well aware of the mounting cries for his sacking ahead of Saturday’s clash with Hull City at St James’ Park.

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.”