Chelsea boss Jose Mourinho blamed the ball-boys and Toon fans for their failure to score an equaliser in their 2-1 defeat at Newcastle United.
The Blues had their unbeaten run ended at St James' Park.
He said: "You need one ball. Sometimes we had no balls and other times we had two balls.
"I don't like to lose because of bad decisions from the referee - but the referee was very good today; I don't like to lose and blame my players.
"But that wasn't the case today. We were just unlucky. They scored only the only two times they crossed the halfway line and scored two strange goals because of rebounds.
"But I am not going to criticise the way Newcastle played. We changed our strategy and played direct and we almost got the point we deserved.
"We were unlucky, but one day we will be lucky."
Asked if he believed his issue with the ball-boys and the crowd was a deliberate strategy, Mourinho replied cryptically: "Do you believe in Father Christmas?"
Opposite number Alan Pardew, however, laughed off the suggestion.
He said: "I know Jose has had a little moan about the ball-boys and stuff like that, but I think that's a bit harsh. But if the ball goes in the stand at Newcastle with six minutes to go, it ain't coming back, trust me.
"There was a bit of confusion, the ball coming on, we are kicking it away - come on, I don't think that's really where we are today. It was an unbelievable performance."
