BY the time Newcastle United hosted Cardiff City in their final home game of last season, Alan Pardew had already completed his seven-match stadium and touchline ban for a head-butt on David Meyler. Not, however, that you would have realised from his conduct that afternoon.

As a torrent of abuse poured down from the St James’ Park stands, with supporters leaving at pre-arranged moments to underline their unhappiness with the managerial incumbent, Pardew refused to stray from the sanctity of his dug-out.

While John Carver edged towards the touchline to bark out instructions, Pardew remained unmoved, a normally ebullient figure neutered by the chaos that was unfolding around him.

With the atmosphere at this afternoon’s home game with Hull City likely to be every bit as toxic, the Newcastle boss faces a politically-significant choice. Return to being a very visible presence in order to challenge his critics head on, or cower in the shadows in the hope of taking some of the sting out of a poisonously-charged environment?

Whatever he chooses, his decision will say much about how he envisages the rest of his managerial tenure playing out.

“I’ve changed my management this year anyway in terms of spending more time away from the touchline,” said Pardew. “But I’ll just have to gauge the situation during the game.

“Of course you wouldn’t expect me to be waving to the crowd and saying, ‘Hi everyone, I’m happy, how are you today?’ That’s not going to happen.

“But I’m not nervous and I’m not in fear of it either. That’s not an ego or an arrogance thing, that’s just the way I’m wired. I kind of want the game. I want to play it, get it done, and I want to get a win.”

Some of the scenes that will unfold this afternoon are likely to be unprecedented, with an anti-Pardew website having arranged for thousands of placards, banners and flags to be printed in order to facilitate a mass protest.

Whether Mike Ashley, who is due to be present in the directors’ suite of the Milburn Stand, pays any attention is a moot point, but Pardew will surely experience considerable discomfort as he surveys the scene at his home ground.

The 53-year-old has spent most of the last week mentally preparing himself for the challenge, but unlike the Cardiff game, when he freely admits the scale of the criticism took him aback, at least he knows what is coming this time around.

“That (the Cardiff game) was the first time I’ve ever experienced something like that,” he said. “As a manager, you have to use your knowledge and resolve to deal with certain situations.

“I had some really testing times last season, as we all know. But it’s about being a manager who can control certain situations that happen.

“It can also make you stronger – it can make the players stronger too. We’ve talked about the Cardiff game and coming through that. We knew before that game how much pressure there would be, although there was probably more pressure on the players that day than on me.”

Newcastle’s players are the other actors in today’s drama, and there has to be a concern over how some of the newest members of the squad will react to what is sure to be a highly-charged atmosphere.

Remy Cabella and Emmanuel Riviere are still coming to terms with life in the Premier League anyway – is it fair to expect them to be able to deal with thousands of supporters hurling abuse at their boss?

Pardew admits their reaction is a concern, and a significant number of supporters have urged their fellow fans to shelve their protests until the final whistle. Given their position at the foot of the Premier League table, Newcastle can ill afford to throw away another three points against a side who could turn out to be one of their relegation rivals come the end of the campaign.

Ironically, Hull were the opponents in 2008 when Newcastle supporters staged a protest at the removal of former manager Kevin Keegan, and with the home players appearing to freeze, the visitors left with a 2-1 win.

“It’s important they (the new players) understand the history and dynamics of this football club,” said Pardew. “We have had nights here which took my breath away, like Benfica when we were pushing for the goal in the second half or Arsenal when we came back from four down. They were unbelievable atmospheres, but if you get that, you are going to get the other side from time to time.

“I would not say this is a normal negative game. I think it is a little more than that, and I have tried to express to them that is a place where emotions run high. You have to deal with that emotion. It’s an emotional crowd which relays itself on to the pitch, and the players are going to have to deal with it.

“The one thing I think is important is that I look for players who I think are struggling with the situation, more so to protect them. It may well be that at half-time, I make an early change. It might be that the situation has got too much for that individual player, not because he is necessarily playing poorly.”