Newcastle United chairman Chris Mort insists there's no doubts from himself or club owner Mike Ashley over manager Sam Allardyce.

"Chopping and changing managers hasn't worked," Mort said. "Success stories at other clubs are often about longevity. The Premier League manager is clearly in a highly pressurised environment - four have gone this season - but the guys who have brought success have been there longer term. Sam is doing a great job."

He also told The Times: "The fact that Sam wasn't our appointment and that Mike has lots of money doesn't create any kind of problem for me.

"If clubs had been looking for a manager to recruit in the summer, I'm sure we'd all have said that Sam was one of the best you could get. Mike might get compared with other billionaire owners - he's a very successful businessman, demanding, very good at what he does - but it doesn't mean he wants to fix everything quickly and continue the roller-coaster ride. He takes a long-term view, because he can.

"This is a club close to people's hearts and that's why we wanted to get involved in it. Because of that, there does tend to be a bigger swing in emotions. One minute, it is full of optimism and 'we're going to qualify for the Champions League'. Then you lose two games and it's, 'right, who's going to be the next manager?' There seems to be a real short-term attitude in the football business which we want to resist."