Newcastle United boss Alan Pardew offered no excuses for their 4-0 defeat at home to Manchester United.
Pardew was in subdued mood as he reflected upon a seventh defeat in 10 league games - Newcastle have conceded 11 goals without reply in the last three - as a season which at one point promised so much continues to unravel at an alarming rate.
He said: "It's tough. I understand the fans' frustration. They want to see exciting football at this stadium and we are just not producing it at the moment.
"We need to just gather ourselves together and hopefully go to Stoke and put on a performance which is above the last three.
"I thought the commitment was on the pitch today, there was a lot of good commitment. We actually had some decent performances in and around that performance, but United were too good today.
"The last few results, particularly the last three, have been tough, tough games for us.
"The opposition have been above us, there's no doubt about that, and we have not really had any breaks in the games.
"We had chances today. The first goal was essential for us, I thought, and we didn't get it."
