Monday 29 September 2014 07:14, UK
Alan Pardew believes Mike Ashley’s light-hearted threat to sack him was simply the Newcastle owner’s way of being supportive.
Earlier this week, Ashley told a reporter outside a Soho pub that Pardew would be sacked if Newcastle lost to Stoke on Monday night – a comment which Ashley’s lawyer said was designed to humour the journalist.
And Pardew, whose Newcastle side are languishing in the bottom two of the Premier League, is preferring to put a positive spin on Ashley’s remarks.
"I think he was trying to be supportive in his own kind of way. They [the comments] are what they are and unfortunately we have had those sort of headlines for two or three weeks.
"The focus for me really can only be Monday night."
Newcastle are still looking for their first league win of the season but emerged victorious from their all-Premier League Capital One Cup clash at Crystal Palace in midweek.
Pardew is looking for a similarly calm and controlled away performance from his side at the Britannia Stadium on Monday night.
“We are very conscious that we haven't had the win,” the Newcastle manager said. “We have got to try to get the balance right because it's not a boxing match, we can't fight our way to a win.
"We have got to get a balance between having enough fight and playing, and I think we got that right at Palace. We had enough determination to win the game, but also were relaxed enough to play."
Watch Stoke take on Newcastle live on Sky Sports 1 with coverage from 7pm on Monday.
