IF Mike Ashley thought it was funny to joke beforehand about the fact that Alan Pardew would be ‘gone’ if Newcastle United lost to Stoke City, then it certainly isn’t now.

The Magpies suffered defeat again at the Britannia Stadium, for the third time this season, and the wait for a first Premier League win goes on as the pressure on Pardew reaches new heights.

Peter Crouch’s 15th minute header proved the difference as the toothless Magpies continued to struggle to pose any real threat in the final third – and the majority of the 1,700-plus away fans demanded the manager’s removal.

‘You’re nothing special, we lose every week’ was one of the chants belted out by the travelling support, although the majority of the songs centred on Pardew, who was hit with a barrage of abuse as he headed for the tunnel just in front of the Geordies in the corner.

Only goals scored prevents Newcastle from propping up the Premier League after six matches and once again the spotlight turns to Ashley and whether or not he will act on the fans’ protests; just days after the owner insisted he was joking when he suggested on a night out that this could be Pardew’s last game if a defeat arrived.

There were glimpses of some nice football from Newcastle here, but the reality is that they do not seem to have the firepower to lift them away from trouble. It is still just five league wins in 2014, collecting a meagre 19 from a possible 81 available to them.

Will Pardew remain in the job, and how long does he have to turn things around? Only Ashley truly knows.

Even before a ball had been kicked inside the Britannia, Pardew had to deal with speculation about his future. In his pre-match interview half an hour before kick-off he suggested “the fans are questioning every thing” he does at the moment and that he had to “remain strong.”

It was with that mindset that he made the decision to head straight for his technical area, like he did at Hull, and he stayed there for the majority of the night. His presence led to a decent enough start too, with plenty of forays forward but it was Stoke that took the lead.

Had French striker Emmanuel Riviere, who got off the mark with two goals in last week’s win at Crystal Palace, hit the target after a clever run and pass from Remy Cabella then things might have been different. Instead he blazed woefully off target and Stoke immediately broke and took the lead.

An interchange of passes involving Charlie Adam and Victor Moses led to the latter finding space on the right. He floated over a teasing delivery and Crouch moved ahead of Fabricio Coloccini to place a lovely header inside Tim Krul’s right-hand post.

That arrived inside quarter of an hour and Stoke could easily have had two minutes later when referee Craig Pawson opted to wave play on when Moses appeared to be shoved, rather than outmuscled, to the floor by Yoan Gouffran in the penalty area. It should have been given.

Given Stoke’s willingness to allow Newcastle to attack them, the first half performance of the visitors probably looked better than it actually was. More often than not, Stoke counter-attacked with real intent after sniffing out the threat at the other end.

Moses, a Chelsea player often mentioned as a possible loan signing on Tyneside, was the main source of those breaks. His 40-yard run deep in to the Newcastle half almost led to a second, but Mike Williamson did just enough to head out of the path of Steven Nzonzi when a second looked certain.

Newcastle actually did some nice things in possession, but whenever they got somewhere near to the Stoke penalty area the move tended to break down. The nearest they game to grabbing an equaliser before half-time was when Asmir Begovic turned a low 25-yard drive from Daryl Janmaat behind for a corner.

Yet at the other end Stoke looked capable of scoring every time Moses got on the ball. Seconds before the whistle, the Nigerian forward’s mazy run in to the box was followed by a cut back and Marko Arnautovic’s net-bound drive was well blocked by Paul Dummett.

Having survived that, the lead remained slender enough to eradicate if Newcastle could come up with a bit of magic at the other end. That prompted Pardew to throw on Papiss Cisse for the ineffectual Riviere, in the hope the Senegal international could hit a double like he did against Hull.

In fact Stoke still looked the more dangerous and Arnautovic came within a whisker of a second when his low drive from just inside the box crashed off the foot of the far post and Newcastle eventually cleared.

There was even a calamitous moment when Janmaat’s attempted clearance ricochet off team-mate Williamson and fell invitingly for Moses eight yards out. The forward’s shot on the turn was dealt with by Krul or it could have left the Dutch right-back red-faced.

And as the minutes ticked by, the chants from Newcastle’s fans calling for Pardew to go intensified and Colback missed an incredible chance to ease the situation when he powered against the bar after a lovely cross from Gabriel Obertan.

After the whistle had blown, Pardew headed for the tunnel; fearing for his job - again.