Allardyce feeling the pressure

Newcastle manager Sam Allardyce admitted the pressure was back on after seeing his side capitulate in dismal style at Wigan.

The Magpies went down 1-0 at the JJB Stadium to Ryan Taylor's second-half strike to leave fans already fuming at Sunday's 2-2 home draw with Derby venting their anger with the manager once again.

Allardyce headed into the festive programme believing a corner had been turned after a draw with then Barclays Premier League leaders Arsenal and successive victories over Fulham and Birmingham eased Newcastle back into the top half of the table.

If the supporters were not entirely convinced - it took a last-minute Joey Barton penalty to see off Fulham and Habib Beye's injury-time header to beat City - they were at least able to anticipate a maximum haul against seemingly-doomed Derby and struggling Wigan.

However, a measly return of one point - and that courtesy of Mark Viduka's late equaliser against the Rams - left fans in militant mood.

Allardyce, who had to listen to the travelling supporters calling for his head and the installation of Alan Shearer as his replacement, said: "It's the same old story, isn't it? You lose a game and lose it badly and you are under the cosh, especially if you are the manager.

"I cannot blame the fans for what they were singing. We were not good enough and you don't need to be an expert to see that. They spend their hard-earned money and they want to see us fight and do an awful lot better than we did."

Allardyce admitted his players had simply not been good enough at Wigan, although five of those who started - Beye, Abdoulaye Faye, Alan Smith, Geremi and Viduka - as well as substitute Jose Enrique, were signed by him during the summer.

But it was left to one of the club's longer serving employees to offer an apology to the 5,000 or so fans who had made their way to the north-west for a Boxing Day debacle.

Turkey international Emre, who made his first start since November, said: "It's disappointing to lose another away game, and we are very sorry for the many supporters who came to the game.

"The players are good friends and we work for each other. I don't understand why we have problems like this away from home. After the Derby draw, we have now lost the points against Wigan. We are really sorry — everyone is.

"Christmas time is very important for the fans and I can understand that. Against Derby, we had 25 shots on target, but against Wigan we had two or three, which is not very good. It is a problem for us. But we have to think positively. We do not have much time as the Chelsea and Manchester City games are so close together, but we must be strong."