Alan Shearer has delivered a stinging rebuke of the conduct of Mike Ashley and the Newcastle United board in light of the club's current plight - but has warned Steve Bruce that his teams current form is unacceptable.
The Magpies became the first side to lose to Sheffield United in the Premier League this season as they were beaten 1-0 at Bramall Lane on Tuesday evening.
The result means Bruce's side have failed to win any of their last eight matches in all competitions - including a dismal Carabao Cup quarter-final defeat at the hands of Championship outfit Brentford.
The club are still seven points clear of the relegation zone but are slipping down the table in the wrong direction.
Their head coach has come in for fierce criticism from fans during the run of results, with many high profile supporter accounts on Twitter now calling for his sacking.
But club legend Shearer insists that the anger is misdirected, and has pointed to the difficulties Bruce faces in a role that is made ever harder by a neglectful hierarchy - who have been absent this season amid a failed attempt to sell the club to a Saudi-backed consortium led by Amanda Staveley.
'What really irks me is how little protection Steve has received from the people above him,' he wrote in his Athletic column.
'Where is Lee Charnley (the managing director)? What happened to that statement of his where he admitted the error of not communicating with fans? Where is his backing for the manager? Where is the strategy? Come on, Lee, where are you? Where is anyone, aside from Steve?
'I can’t believe he’s having to deal with questions about furloughing staff, giving tickets away, about coronavirus, about a takeover. These shouldn’t be issues for the manager. It’s a tough and lonely enough job as it is. The point is, he’s on his own.
'And this was why I said at the time that I wish Steve hadn’t replaced Rafa Benitez, that I had grave reservations about what might happen down the road. The road leads here.
'It would have been the same if somebody else had come in and it will be the same for the next manager and the one after that if nothing else changes, because it’s the way Newcastle are built under Ashley. The manager takes it all on his shoulders; a concentration of anger, stretching back years.'
While there are mitigating circumstances off the pitch, Shearer also acknowledges that scenes on the pitch aren't good enough.
He described Ryan Fraser's unnecessary red card on Tuesday night as 'pathetic' as his side failed gave up 67 per cent possession to the worst team in the top flight.
And with the club constantly propping up the tables for attacking stats in the Premier League this season, Shearer has warned his friend Bruce that there must be an improvement.
'When it’s crap I’ll say it’s crap — I wouldn’t be doing my job otherwise — and Sheffield United was a dreadful night,' Shearer admitted.
'I don’t think Newcastle have a brilliant squad, but for Chris Wilder’s team to have as much possession as they did, to look as good as they did, is not acceptable.
'It invites scrutiny and invites pressure and it fuels the anger. You have to accept the criticism coming your way and Steve has been in the game long enough to understand that.
'This is not the Newcastle United we all want and this is not the Newcastle United we should accept.'
