Alan Pardew: Newcastle manager under pressure, says Alan Shearer

Alan Pardew is under pressure as Newcastle manager, according to former striker Alan Shearer, as the Magpies' poor start to the season continued with a 4-0 loss at Southampton.

Newcastle have yet to win any of their four games, and have only picked up one Premier League victory in 12 matches.

"He is under huge pressure," Shearer told Match of the Day.

Pardew told BBC Radio 5 live: "All I can do until told otherwise is plan the group for next week [at home to Hull]."

Pardew is under contract at St James' Park until 2020.

In the lead up to Saturday's match, sections of the media speculated that the former Saints manager only had two games in which to save his job.

During the game, with owner Mike Ashley in attendance, fans held banners calling for Pardew's sacking, and the vitriol only intensified after Newcastle conceded twice inside the first 20 minutes.

"It [the scrutiny] is not going to help because the performance from the start put us on the back foot," Pardew told BBC's Match of the Day.

"The fans were on us from the start, on me in particular. That didn't help the situation."

The Magpies' problems appear to be a hangover from last season when, after selling key midfielder Yohan Cabaye in January, they only won four times in the last 15 matches.

The club also sold France international full-back Mathieu Debuchy and sent often-influential midfielder and fans' favourite Hatem Ben Arfa on loan to Hull during the summer transfer window.

"The criticisms [from the fans] are fair. You can't get beaten 4-0 - I've had a few of those at the club," admitted Pardew.

"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."

Former Newcastle striker Shearer, who also managed the club for eight games at the end of the 2008-09 season, added: "Results have not been good enough since January. From the very first minute, Southampton went after Newcastle and they could not cope with it.

"Having said all that, I am led to believe they spent nearly £40m - and on players that come in and go out, the manager does not have a say in that.

"It might work for a year or two but inevitably, in the long run, that does not work."

Newcastle fans vented their dislike for Pardew during the match on Saturday

Former Liverpool midfielder Danny Murphy told Match of the Day there "did not seem to be any leadership out there" for Newcastle.

"All afternoon there was not really any energy, desire or bite in Newcastle's play," he added.

Pardew was handed a five-and-a-half year deal when he took over from Chris Hughton at St James' Park in December 2010.

The former West Ham and Southampton boss was then rewarded with an eight-year contract extension until 2020, following a successful 2011-12 season that saw the club finish fifth in the Premier League. He also was named the Premier League's manager of the year and won the League Managers' Association award.

However, the club's fortunes took a nosedive in the next campaign, and only a win at QPR in the penultimate match ensured their Premier League safety.

After a promising start to the 2013-14 season which saw them reach sixth - three points shy of a Champions League spot - on Boxing Day, the Magpies again floundered.

They eventually finished 10th, 30 points behind fourth-placed Arsenal, while Pardew was handed a seven-match ban for a headbutt on Hull's David Meyler.

Newcastle owner Mike Ashley (right) attended the game at St Mary's

Newcastle manager Alan Pardew (right) was a forlorn figure in the Newcastle dugout

There were anti-Pardew chants from Newcastle fans and mocking chants from Southampton supporters