Newcastle boss Alan Pardew has admitted he found it difficult to look fans in the eye in the depths of the club's desperate start to the season.
The Magpies finally claimed their first Barclays Premier League win of the campaign at the eighth attempt when they beat Leicester 1-0 on Saturday, although they remain inside the drop zone.
Pardew came under intense pressure, particularly after a 4-0 defeat at Southampton on September 13, with supporters calling for his head, and he is hoping life may now be a little more comfortable.
He told the Shields Gazette: "I'm not going to pretend it hasn't been tough. It has been very, very tough to look our fans in the eye when I've met them in the street and listened to their frustration and complaints.
"It's fair, and I can't say it's not. We should be winning more games than we are."
Pardew, who takes his side to Tottenham on Sunday, is under no illusions as to the work which still needs to be done to drag the club away from the danger area, or that he remains in the firing line for his most vociferous critics, who have been active on social media for weeks.
However, with club owner Mike Ashley still backing him, he will simply get on with his job hoping to build upon the win over Leicester.
He said: "I'll hopefully have a smoother run now in terms of being able to manage the football club without all the additional pressures that defeats bring.
"The social media and everything else - I saw (former Manchester United manager) David Moyes' comments - heap more pressure on us managers, and we have to be tough in this game.
"We got a win, and that helps."
Source: PA
