Goalkeeper Steve Harper added his views: 

"The fans have shown their frustration but don't think for a minute that it's not the same in the dressing room.

"We are lacking character and mental strength, certainly when we have gone behind, and we're in a bit of trouble now.

"It's tin-hat time. You look to your big characters to get on the ball, get out there and do something with it. That's what we need.

"I remember what it was like when Bobby Robson came and we just need to get on a run of winning some league games, the sooner the better."

Neil Warnock said:

"It was a thoroughly deserved victory. I was disappointed at half-time, and a few words were said. I just felt we were happy to be 0-0 and to have restricted Newcastle.

"I expect more from us. We could be better and we had to step our game up rather than wait until Newcastle did something.

"Five or six of our lads just lifted their game and I think that's why we won it. I thought we were a lot more positive in the second half; we got on to a lot more second balls and we battled well.

"I thought we played very well. We were well organised and I thought we were a threat. I think people will write about Newcastle rather than Sheffield United, which is disappointing because I thought we fully deserved this win.

"The game is so intense that you have not got time to worry about anybody else. You worry about yourself really - because it is Glenn one week, Alan Pardew another.

"There is only me and Aidy Boothroyd that are not under pressure. Aidy has got a job for life - I have only got six months, so I am always pretty worried.

"We are all in it; we know what it is about. It is my night tonight, and I am going to enjoy every minute of it because there have not been a lot of them this year."

Our secret is out.

What was once Fortress St.James’ is now more like a Wendy House.

A crowd once reputedly worth a goal start is now muted at best, unwilling or unable to supply the unconditional support and finance that we’re routinely applauded for by outsiders.

And while Alex Ferguson celebrates a 20-year reign at the Theatre of Dreams, Glenn Roeder’s chances of getting a cake with a single candle on it next February continue to recede by the game.

Welcome to the Theatre of Hate, where it’s open house once again for opponents – and open season on home players, directors and the managers. 

In fairness the current Newcastle boss should know the signs, having been here as a player the last time that disunity put us onto the back pages as we meekly crept out of the top division. 

Back then, there was no lack of effort from him in the beleagured defence but then as now, what went on in front of him proved to be our undoing.

1988/89 saw us register a miserable 32 goals in 38 games, meaning that every goal we conceded was crucial. Games that should have been won were drawn and draws became defeats, as average teams realised playing us wasn’t a problem and dropped their negative containing tactics in favour of a more expansive strategy.

For an idea of how distracting and destructive the off-field goings on at that time were, read the manager Jim Smith’s book or the player John Hendrie’s scribblings. Back then, an increasingly poisonous atmosphere at home games helped nobody but the opposition, but did see the end of the “old guard” - at considerable cost to the club.

Back to 2006 though and what should have been a week in which we won a solid six points at home and restored the faith of the SJP crowd has instead become the point when concerns became genuine worry. 

Forget Palermo, now discredited as a distraction by this defeat instead of the heralded confidence -booster, when we again "answered our critics", only to slip up in the next game.

Two Saturday teatime horror shows though saw fans and TV viewer given a grandstand view of how inept and gutless we really are. No goals, one point, no positives to be taken and a fixture list in front of us that promises increasing bleakness.

Shorn of strikers and lacking confidence and leadership, we were sitting ducks against the most mediocre possible opposition.

An opening forty five minutes in both games failed to produce a goal, as we flattered to deceive in attack and had very little to cope with in defence.

After that though the second half was very different, as we ran out of ideas and handed the initiative to the opposition.

Dowie and his mob were too introspective to realise this until the dying embers of the game, when they finally reached our penalty area and should have scored what would have been a guaranteed winner. 

Fast forward to the visit of Warnock’s lot – a decidedly feistier bunch, for whom the light clicked on after an hour of the game.

Realising that we simply had nothing to hurt them with they took the game to us, got the goal and then never looked in remote danger of not leaving with three points as SJP turned on itself.

We’ve now gone full circle back to the time when Souness was dividing the crowd and prompting fans to think the unthinkable.

Lee Clark’s late equaliser against the smoggies in January wasn’t greeted with universal celebration – a fair few punters having walked out previously in disgust and some of those who remained having resigned themselves to a defeat for the greater good of toppling the current regime.

And once the Blades were ahead in this game, an element of that destructive mentality seemed to have returned – people who had willed on Newcastle at 0-0 couldn’t find it in themselves to back the side in their attempts to restore parity.

The team of course also did their best to assist, failing to show the slightest twitch to suggest that any sort of revival or comeback was even a remote possibility.

The problems on Saturday though have as much to do with our recruiting strategy and husbandry as an injury crisis or a hectic fixture schedule.

However the latter didn’t help; our desire for the Sky lucre outweighing any other considerations and making a mockery of our successful appeal to have the Chelsea game rescheduled next month.

In our dash for cash (in this case £300k) though, we may reflect not only on the millions routinely sent up in smoke on our dodgy transfer deals, or on the massive revenue downturn suffered as a result of relegation (recently estimated at £40m.) That telly money then looks small beer indeed.

Our home form this season remains dreadful and most worringly of all, none of the so-called “big” sides who routinely come here with a positive game plan have yet visited SJP.

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