Pardew facing ´serious conversations´ with Ashley

Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew expects “serious conversations” with Mike Ashley after Monday’s 1-0 Premier League loss to Stoke City.

Defeat at the Britannia Stadium – Peter Crouch’s first-half header was all that separated the teams – leaves Newcastle still without a league win in 2014-15 and Pardew under serious pressure after a week in which his owner claimed the sack would follow a negative result.

Pardew was jeered by the travelling support as the game wound to an end, and has borne the brunt of fan frustrations for several weeks.

And, while the former Southampton boss has vowed to continue to scrap for his job, he admits the situation is becoming tricky to manage.

When asked if he expected to face crunch talks in the immediate aftermath of Monday’s game, Pardew told Sky Sports: “No, we will have some serious conversations before Saturday.

“He [Newcastle owner Mike Ashley] doesn’t want to lose and neither do I.

“I’ve never really been in this situation before, it’s a bit unique.

“But I’m a professional football manager and that’s what I’ll continue to do.”

Jack Colback rattled the crossbar from four yards in the game’s dying stages as a point slipped out of reach and Pardew conceded a lack of spark up front had cost his team throughout.

“We didn’t come up with the answers tonight,” he said. “We just need a little bit of something in that final area.

“Jack is beating himself up in there, I thought his game was terrific tonight against a good midfield.

“We let ourselves down on the goal and that was the difference really.

“It leaves us in a position where we are in the bottom three. I have to fight, the team has to fight, to turn this around.”