Manchester United boss Sir Alex Ferguson again had sympathy for Sam Allardyce after thrashing Newcastle 6-0 yesterday.

Ferguson said of the former Toon boss: "They are the most difficult club to manage in the game, gobbling up managers and spitting them out again with hardly a pause. Their list of sacked bosses reads like a who's who of football. Surely at least one of that band of legends would have been successful if the directors, supporters and media had shown a little more patience.

"Newcastle have to satisfy not only a board of directors and fanatical support, but also some very demanding and jumpy journalism that raises the bar even higher than normal."