Nigel Pearson has called on Newcastle United to name a new manager quickly after their 6-0 thrashing by Manchester United.
"It has been a very difficult day," the coach said.
"I am not going to make excuses. It is plain for all to see the situation would be better served by being resolved quickly.
"It is not my business to comment on those matters. Whatever is going on at that level will be dealt with by the people who have that authority.
"But the scoreline has altered people's perspective on how this day is viewed. The pride of everyone at the club has been pretty severely dented.
"The mood before the game was good. But the harsh reality is we have come up against a better side.
"What happened in the second half was down to a number of things including basic decision-making and bad defending.
"Some of the things we did were exceptionally good, others were appalling. When you are playing against a team as talented and ruthless as that, you make it very difficult for yourself.
"There was a big gap between the two teams."