'Mass hysteria' paralysing Magpies, says Pardew
Alan Pardew has accused Newcastle United fans of paralysing the English Premier League side with "mass hysteria".
The Toon Army have been growing increasingly restless with their team's poor performances under Pardew, who has won just five out of 23 EPL games this year.
The discontent at St James' Park was only worsened by their last outing - a 4-0 thrashing at the hands of Southampton last week - and the club's fans are believed to be preparing to stage an anti-Pardew protest when Hull City visit on Saturday.
But Newcastle boss Pardew believes the negative atmosphere has only served to cripple the players and he has dismissed claims that he does not care about the club.
Difficult
The former West Ham United boss said: "The situation at the moment is almost like mass hysteria. It has really gone to a level which makes it really difficult for the players to perform in.
"I'm hoping we can turn that around. I don't expect it to be easy.
"It has been suggested that I don't care about this position as I've got a long contract and I'm going through the motions.
"Nothing could be further from the truth. I was absolutely sick after the game on Saturday (the 4-0 defeat at Southampton).
"The performance we put in was just not worthy of this football club and that I blame on myself more than the players."
Source: PA Sport
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