Where do we go from here?

Down and out? The defeat on Sunday was just absolutely not good enough for a number of reasons, however before I get into that I must say that any defeat doesn't give people a right to act like a moron like a small minority chose to do after the game.

Having said that, I can understand why people were so annoyed. I was, and I still am, but I didn't go around smashing my own neighbourhood up as a result.

My biggest problem is not the defeat. I can take defeat, even to Sunderland, but what I can't take is the shocking level of performance displayed by the vast majority of those in black and white shirts. I've never seen a Newcastle United team so not up for a derby game and that is what has hurt me more than anything else, even the result.

Sometimes you just have to hold your hands up and say we were beaten by the better side. I still think we have a better team, a view echoed by pundits and press prior to the game, but if you don't perform on the day and your opponents do then it makes things hard. Credit to Sunderland, as much as it pains me to say that.

Where do we go from here though? The Europa League has been and gone and now we're back in the relegation mix properly, if we were indeed ever out of it. Questions need to be asked, serious questions, but they also need to wait until the end of the season. Right now we must concentrate on getting enough points on the board to avoid being relegated. That is all that matters.

From now until the end of the season I don't care how we play. I don't care whether it's hoofball, longball or anything like that and neither should anyone else in the very short term. We aren't in a position to be picky about the football being played. What we need are points on the board and pretty damn quickly,by whatever means it takes.

This season has been a disaster from start to finish and EVERYONE needs to take a portion of the blame for it. From poorly performing players to poor management, inside and outside the board room, to training techniques and maybe even our coaching set up. Let's just limp over the line, write this one off, and then talk about things when we actually know which division we'll be playing in next season.

As hard as it's going to be, Sunday needs to be put behind us. We can't feel sorry for ourselves. Our opposition won't so we need to be up for it from minute one until the final whistle. Let's do this.

Howay the lads!