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Former Tottenham boss Tim Sherwood would be keen on the Newcastle United job if Mike Ashley loses patience with Alan Pardew.

Pardew is a damaged and discredited figure at St James’ Park but Ashley appears to have little appetite to pull the plug and start a search for a new manager with all of the expense and disruption that would bring.

That is not to say that the owner will not wield the axe. Ashley has considered firing Pardew before – when the owner felt comments that he made about him on a Sky Sports interview in October last year were unacceptable – but he pulled back from the brink, just as he did when the Newcastle boss head-butted David Meyler during a game at Hull City.

Pardew has been more circumspect about the owner since then but his transfer wish-list, which included Jonjo Shelvey, Andros Townsend, Burnley full-back Kieran Trippier and striker Danny Ings, was ignored over the summer and Newcastle backed their boss with just a terse one-line statement.

The mood towards the manager has certainly changed in the last few months but club employees have been informed it is “business as usual” this week – despite the prospect of a potentially poisonous atmosphere at St James’ Park.

Speculation over the St James’ Park hot seat has been rife over the last few days with Steve Bruce – who has been keen on the job in the past – and even Fabricio Coloccini touted as possible successors to Pardew.

But Sherwood, who turned down the West Brom job over the summer, is also keen. Journal columnist Don Hutchison has revealed that Sherwood would “jump at the chance” to take on the role, and says that with Newcastle legend Les Ferdinand potentially on his backroom staff he would be a “good fit”.

Hutchison said: “I was working with Tim Sherwood and Andy Townsend on punditry duties on Saturday with access to all of the games and I had to rub my eyes in disbelief at what was going on in the Newcastle game.

“Big defeats haven’t exactly been rare in 2014 but I think with everything riding on a successful start to the season, that was arguably the worst of the lot.

“When it went to two I turned to Andy and said: “If they go down three or four-nil I think he’s a dead man walking.” And I turned to Tim as said “You’d jump at the chance to take that job wouldn’t you?” Tim’s reply was: “Not half”.

“I know Alan is still in the job but if he loses it, I actually think that would be a good fit for Newcastle. Tim would go in there with Les Ferdinand, who is a Newcastle legend and could tell you everything you need to know about that club, and they would try and play the right way: attacking football.”

Standing in Pardew’s favour is the fact that United banned two journalists on Friday for suggesting he was two games away from the sack. Dismissing him after Hull would contradict that.

Ex-Newcastle United manager Graeme Souness said he had “sympathy” for Pardew after the weekend protests. He said: “Results are everything. It used to be you got half a season or a full season if you were not winning but now you get six matches. If you are in such a job then you know that is the case.

“Newcastle is a big club with very passionate supporters who can get very very frustrated at times and can be very quick to show their emotions, but that’s the price on the ticket if you want to manage a club like Newcastle. You know that if it does go wrong your head will be on the block. That’s where he finds himself unfortunately.”