Thousands of angry Newcastle supporters staged a prolonged protest outside St James' Park on Saturday night after seeing their slide slump into the bottom two in the Barclays Premiership following their 1-0 defeat to Sheffield United.

Glenn Roeder's players were booed from the pitch as the crowd turned on chairman Freddy Shepherd both during and after the game. Shepherd is currently out of the country with his wife Lorelle, who was taken ill recently - but as speculation mounts over the Belgravia Group's interest in launching a takeover, his critics are becoming increasingly vociferous.

Roeder said: "I do not feel under pressure, no. I have been around too long. I do not feel under pressure whatsoever. If I do not feel under pressure, I am not fearful of my job."