Newcastle United defender Mike Williamson has insisted that team morale is still strong, despite the club's current predicament in the Premier League.

Alan Pardew's position as manager has come under pressure due to the team's failure to secure a single victory in the top flight so far this season.

The current form has caused some fans to turn on Pardew, who has claimed numerous times that he will not walk away from his job.

"It has been difficult, it always is when you have a bad period," The Northern Echo quotes Williamson as saying. "But the lads are working their socks off and there is no lack of effort, we are all working hard behind the manager and trying to put things right.

"That is what can happen with the frenzy [the media] can create and you end up with a bandwagon people are happy to jump on. But it is part and parcel of the game."

After the international break, the Magpies will take on Leicester City at St James' Park on October 18.