I didn’t watch the match. I only saw the final score.

A couple of weeks ago, I stated that I believe Alan Pardew will not be sacked as NUFC manager in the nearby future.

I would now like to retract that statement.

Yes, as a businessman, I think that Mike Ashley will get his money’s worth out of Pardew and that means not pulling the trigger until he thinks it is totally necessary But, the pressure was mounting, even before today’s drubbing at the hands of Southampton.

 Ashley’s declaration this week that he will not sell the club could be met with either the despair that he and Pardew are not looking to leave any time soon or with the dreamer’s approach that he is willing to strengthen the club and not just his bank balance.

 Whichever way you look at it, it’s interesting to note that Ashley’s insistence on quashing any rumours that he was going to sell, when he usually stays silent.

 As for Pardew, I recently argued that no other manager would be willing to take the job and work under the same strenuous conditions (both from his employers and the club’s fans) that he works under. Apart from, perhaps, David Moyes.

 Should Pardew be shown the exit, Moyes is only person I can think of that who could replace him in the that he could please both Ashley and, to a certain extent, the fans. Not to disregard his time at Man U (for it is that that will put other teams off), but, his record at Everton demonstrates he can build a team on a budget and get them to a decent position in the league.

 The cons are that, in some respects, he is a lot like Pardew: not sure what to do with substitutions, no plan B and no real ‘footballing philosophy’ to speak of a la Messrs Rodgers and Martinez.

It may not be the fairest thing to sack Pardew (after all, the players must shoulder some of the responsibility), but, should he go, Moyes has to be the one to replace him. If anyone else was willing to take the chance, the oft-named ‘poisoned chalice’, to manage Newcastle, it will undoubtedly be someone of a weaker calibre or a complete curve-ball. Joe Kinnear, anyone?

 But, for now, it’s Pardew who’s in charge, facing Hull at home. A winnable match that has turned into a must-win match.

 It does irk me that, out of the opening four matches of the season – should we disregard the opening day defeat to Man City – we have had three winnable matches and, where do we sit? Right at the bottom of the table.

 As with anything at NUFC, you never know what is around the corner, but, it certainly feels as though, with Pardew under the microscope, the pendulum has now swung from it being a case of ‘if’ to ‘when’ he will no longer be our manager.