Newcastle United managing director Lee Charnley appears to have given his backing to Steve McClaren by claiming that the club will not make any "rash decisions" following the team's poor start to the Premier League season.

McClaren, who took over as head coach in the summer, is yet to win a game in the top flight having recorded two draws and four defeats.

The North-East outfit were also knocked out of the Capital One Cup in the third round at the hands of Championship side Sheffield Wednesday, who sealed a 1-0 victory at St James' Park on Wednesday.

Charnley has now reached out to the fans in an email, apologising for the team's current form and calling for "collective action".

In a lengthy statement, Charnley said: "There is no hiding from the fact that this has been a very disappointing start to our Premier League campaign, and a painful early exit from a cup competition that we were determined to give everything in this year. We apologise to you for this.

"After six league games the truth is we have not achieved the points that any of us had hoped and expected we would do. None of us can, or will, shirk the responsibility for this situation. Now is the time for collective action, and for us to find solutions to the problems rather than allow ourselves to be consumed by them.

"It is important to state that we bear collective responsibility for our position in the table. Identifying the problems in order to find the solutions is crucial, but we are not in the business of apportioning blame. We are a team, from the boardroom to the boot room, and we will respond like one. So we have sat down as a collective, myself with Steve and his coaching team, and Steve with his players, to discuss the concerns and to look for the solutions together.

"Whilst we are all unhappy, we must not panic or make rash decisions. We should not forget we are still relatively early into the season with lots of games to go and points to play for. Whilst you may be tired of hearing this, I believe, as we have said from the start, all of this rebuilding and reshaping isn't something that can happen overnight - it will take time to see the benefit of the changes we made during the summer."

Charnley added that the club cannot "feel sorry" for themselves as they try to turn their fortunes around.