Alan Pardew proud despite late defeat

Newcastle United manager has insisted that his struggling side will turn the corner if they repeat tonight's performance despite losing late on to Stoke City.

Papiss Cisse put the Magpies ahead early in the second half but two goals in the last 10 minutes earned Stoke a dramatic late victory.

Pardew is adamant that his side deserved better and has backed Newcastle to recover quickly from a disappointing run of results.

He told BBC Sport: "The improvement from Sunday was immense and we deserved something I thought we were the better side I thought we could have a penalty at 1-0 but two sucker punches have cost us.

"It's galling because we're on this run and we're having setback after setback and I feel sorry for the players.

"That team won't go far short if we play like that."

Newcastle have now gone five Premier League games without a win to slip to 14th place, just two points above the relegation zone.