Pardew remains defiant

Under-fire Newcastle boss Alan Pardew insisted he is strong enough to take the tide of criticism which came his way after a demoralising 2-1 home defeat by Reading.

The 51-year-old saw his relegation-threatened side squander a 1-0 lead against one of only four Barclays Premier League sides worse off than them, after Adam Le Fondre came off the bench to pile on the agony with a second-half double.

Pardew's three second-half substitutions were all booed by the fans, and there were further jeers on the final whistle as they slipped to a 10th league defeat in 13 outings. He said: "I am strong enough and have been in situations before where I can deal with where we are at. But I think it's obvious that the team wants a result. That would help every situation."

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