FABRICIO COLOCCINI insists that Newcastle United are not heading for a relegation battle despite a depressing start to the season which has increased the pressure on Alan Pardew to step down as manager.

Pardew was given another torrid night by supporters at Stoke City on Monday, but it is understood that Mike Ashley will stand by his embattled boss and resist any temptation to change his manager ahead of Saturday's trip to Swansea. Even if Newcastle were to lose at the Liberty Stadium, it is far from a given that Pardew would be removed from his post.

The dressing room is standing by the under-fire boss, with defender Mike Williamson suggesting Pardew has shown the right kind of temperament to deal with the criticism and suggested it is only a matter of time before things take a turn for the better.

Those sentiments were echoed by Coloccini, who was around in 2009 when Newcastle suffered relegation to the Championship, and he is convinced that Newcastle can avoid a repeat by proving they have the players to stay up.

Coloccini said: “No, it feels very different (to 2009), because we have controlled games. Last time we went down we could not control games. Now we do. We try to create chances.

“We also have a tight group and are all working for each other. We are staying positive as well. We just need three points, to take the pressure off. I have extra responsibility because I am captain and I take that.

“The fans have been fantastic and we just have to keep going. We are giving everything. You can see on the pitch we want to win the games. The other teams have maybe two chances against us, and they score. That happens when you are having a bad time.”

The Argentine centre-back was largely at fault for Peter Crouch’s winning goal at the Britannia Stadium. Crouch worked his way ahead of Coloccini to nod in Victor Moses’ centre when the Newcastle defence lacked cohesion.

After that opener inside quarter of an hour, however, Newcastle did tighten up and Stoke found it difficult to add to their lead. The problem Pardew’s side faced was that they were unable to seriously test the Potters’ goal until Jack Colback hit the crossbar in the final ten minutes.

The mere fact Newcastle kept pressing in the latter stages to try to avoid a defeat was used as an example by Williamson to highlight that the players remain desperate to do well for the manager and the supporters.

It is impossible for the players to ignore the demands for Pardew to go but the club’s owner Mike Ashley seems reluctant to make such a move and there does appear to be backing from inside the dressing room.

Williamson said: “We are all frustrated as a group, but what the manager has done has shown composure and that is what you need in a situation like this. He has obviously come in for criticism but he has thick skin.

“It’s ourselves that will get us out of this position. He goes through every detail to try to rectify this. It’s just the nature of the league, but we are showing that we are fighting and pushing on to try to get that win. We just haven’t been able to get that.

“We have shown on the pitch that we are 100 per cent behind him and we are doing everything we can. We feel we have come very close and there have been small margins in a lot of the games.”

With the exception of the 4-0 battering at Southampton, Newcastle have not been outclassed by any side this season. However, that does not diminish the fact Pardew has overseen just five wins in the Premier League since the turn of the year.

Despite a battling performance at Stoke, ultimately Newcastle came up short again and that is a huge concern on Tyneside. Williamson, though, believes the playing staff possess the right attitude to turn things around.

He said: “We have to show our professionalism and our character that we can pull ourselves out of this as a group. That’s what we have got. The spirit is high and we have to keep working for the fans and for ourselves. It’s hard to swallow. It’s not through a lack of trying.

“It showed that we have character in the squad that we were still going and trying to get the equaliser in the last few minutes. We have to be positive and try to be on the front foot. It’s difficult when you are down the bottom to try to get yourselves out of it.”

With Swansea, who have started the season quite strongly, up next on Saturday at the Liberty Stadium, Newcastle know it will be tough to enter the international break on the back of a first victory.

But Williamson said: “Swansea are no different, this will be a tough game. We knew the start to the season would be difficult and we have to go down there and put a few wrongs right.

“It’s extremely disappointing to take the defeat at Stoke. It was a tough place to go. We worked hard and it wasn’t through a lack of trying. It just shows our character and the position we are in that we kept going.

“We can see we have quality in the squad, we have goals and character. We did everything we can and it’s the nature of the league that it is unforgiving.

“This is a huge club and the position in the league is difficult to swallow for the fans, but the lads are equally frustrated. We will turn up for training and we will work hard to put it right.”