Newcastle fans turned on the former England boss in poisonous fashion

Steve McClaren's side are second from bottom and one point from safety

It was the Magpies ninth loss in 12 Premier League matches

Steve McClaren says he will not quit as manager of Newcastle United but admits he does not know if he will survive a barbaric afternoon in which supporters called for him to be sacked.

Fans turned on the former England boss in poisonous fashion during Saturday’s 3-1 defeat at home to Bournemouth, singing 'Steve McClaren, he's taking us down'.

The loss – their ninth in 12 matches – leaves the Magpies second from bottom and one point from safety.

Steve McClaren holds his head in anguish as his future on Tyneside continues took bleaker by the week

McClaren denies that he has lost the dressing-room – his players released an ill-timed statement before the game saying they backed him – but he admits that a repeat of performances such as this will send them down to the Championship.

And when asked if would now quit, McClaren said: ‘No way. That is for other people to decide.

‘I’ve had chants like this quite a few times. That’s the perils of being a manager, and especially manager of this team this season.

The home side look dejected as they failed to create any clear cut chances in the first half

A Newcastle fans confronts McClaren as tensions reached boiling point at St James' Park

‘But I can understand that (fans’ reaction). I can understand the frustrations, damn right I do. I’ve thought that all season.

‘There have been ups and downs, and I talk about this team being the most frustrating I’ve ever had.’

Does he, then, expect to be sacked if he won’t walk?

‘You will have to ask them (club hierarchy),’ he said. ‘I can’t control that.’

Joshua King is mobbed by his team-mates after his cross was deflected in by Steven Taylor after 28 minutes

King then lashed in the second as the Newcastle supporters showed their disgust at the team's performance

McClaren, who has won just nine of 43 games at both Derby and Newcastle in the past year, added: ‘We can’t stay up if we keep playing like that. To be brutally honest that was not good enough.

‘We’ve been in the bottom three all season, just about, and occasionally got out. We’ve tried this, that and everything, and I believe there are enough performances in that team, in the last 10 games, to get us out of trouble. But not performances like the one today.’

McClaren’s side return to action at league leaders Leicester a week on Sunday and he expects criticism from both fans and the press before then.

Ayoze Perez (right) pulled one back for the home side but it was too little, too late for the Magpies

‘The fans are fully entitled to do what they did and you’re fully entitled to write what you want, because you’d be absolutely right,’ he said.

‘But I know enough about this team – it can produce performances on its day. Today, when it’s not your day, you have to fight a bit harder and work a little bit harder and show a little bit more courage to want the ball a little bit more. If you don’t do that, you lose games.’