Newcastle director pens an open letter to fans to apologise for poor start to the season

Lee Charnley apologised for the club's poor start

NEWCASTLE managing director Lee Charnley has penned an open letter to supporters to apologise for the club's start to the season.

 

Steve McClaren's side are second bottom in the Premier League after six games, having failed to win a match, and were bombed out of the Capital One Cup on Wednesday night by Championship side Sheffield Wednesday.

Newcastle spent £52million over the summer in a bid to turn around their fortunes after a difficult season under Alan Pardew and John Carver last term.

 

In an e-mail to the club's supporters, Charnley wrote: "There is no hiding from the fact that this has been a very disappointing start to our Premier League campaign, and a painful early exit from a cup competition that we were determined to give everything in this year. We apologise to you for this.

"After six league games, the truth is we have not achieved the points that any of us had hoped and expected we would do.

 

"None of us can, or will, shirk the responsibility for this situation. Now is the time for collective action, and for us to find solutions to the problems rather than allow ourselves to be consumed by them.

"It is important to state that we bear collective responsibility for our position in the table. Identifying the problems in order to find the solutions is crucial, but we are not in the business of apportioning blame. We are a team, from the boardroom to the boot room, and we will respond like one.

"So we have sat down as a collective - myself with Steve and his coaching team, and Steve with his players - to discuss the concerns and to look for the solutions together."

 

Steve McClaren after the Sheffield Wednesday defeat

Steve McClaren after the Watford defeat

Steve McClaren during the West Ham defeat

The start has piled the pressure on McClaren, whose side have lost their last four games in all competitions and face champions Chelsea and current leaders Manchester City in the next two.

But Charnley said: "While we are all unhappy, we must not panic or make rash decisions. We should not forget we are still relatively early into the season with lots of games to go and points to play for.

"While you may be tired of hearing this, I believe, as we have said from the start, all of this rebuilding and reshaping isn't something that can happen overnight; it will take time to see the benefit of the changes we made during the summer."