Last Updated: Sat, 19 Jan 2013 19:46
Alan Pardew insisted he is strong enough to take the tide of criticism which came his way after Newcastle's 2-1 home defeat by Reading.
The 51-year-old saw his relegation-threatened side squander a 1-0 lead against one of only four Barclays Premier League sides worse off than them to lose 2-1 after Adam Le Fondre came off the bench to pile on the agony with a second-half double.
Pardew's three second-half substitutions were all booed by the home fans, and there were further jeers on the final whistle as they slipped to a 10th league defeat in 13 outings.
Newcastle have won just three of the 18 league games they have played since the manager signed his eight-year contract in September last year, and his stock has slipped alarmingly as a result, but he remained defiant.
Pardew said: "I am strong enough and have been in situations before where I can deal with where we are at.
"But I think it's obvious that the team wants a result. That would help every situation."
Pardew is hoping an injection of new blood - full-back Mathieu Debuchy made his home debut as the club agreed a fee with Montpellier for central defender Mapou Yanga-Mbiwa - will help to turn things around, and the new recruits cannot arrive quickly enough.
He said: "We are lacking impetus. A result perhaps would have given us some impetus, but we didn't get it, so therefore we need to look to strengthen the team.
"That's somewhere we can get some impetus and give me some options I think will work for us. The 10-day break will also give us a chance to get Steven Taylor up top speed. He's only had four days' training, so he wasn't really available, and he will add to us.
"But we definitely need two or three more players in this group, and hopefully we can get them over the line before we go to Villa.
"I would like to go to Villa stronger than I was here."
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