Self belief pays dividends for Sam

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The Magpies head into the Barclays Premier League clash with Birmingham at St James' Park looking for their first win in seven attempts but Allardyce insisted his self-belief never deserted him.

"You do not listen to outside influences, you do not listen to speculation," said Alllardyce. "You know you are a good manager, you know what you are doing and you stick to it. You do not let the distractions put you off."

He added: "When you do, or when the players do, that's when you get poor performances and poor results.

"For me in my position, I am experienced enough to handle whatever comes my way because I have been in it so long and I have dealt with it for so long.

"It is getting more and more scrutinised and more and more pressure comes on, but all you have to do is make sure you can handle that pressure and do what you know is right."

Newcastle last won on October 22, when they beat Tottenham 3-1 on Tyneside, a result which left them with 17 points from their first nine games and an encouraging start to the campaign.

However, four defeats in the five matches which followed had sent Allardyce to the head of the betting for the next top-flight managerial casualty.

The 53-year-old admits the pressure on managers is increasing all the time, and warned that could put good young bosses off.

He said: "I am not so sure there are that many capable of doing it now. It is a very specialised area now and you need to be in an extremely knowledgeable and experienced position to be able to handle today's Premier League."