David Moyes made a heartfelt plea for the supporters and players to pull together after another defeat and intense protests from the terraces.

He told the official site: “What we need the Club to do now, the supporters and the players, is pull together. When I took over we were in the bottom three and we’re not in the bottom three.

“Can we make improvements? Can we play better? Can we do things much better? Of course we can, because none of us are daft. To do it would really help everybody to pull in the right direction. We’ve got eight games to do so and I think we’re more than capable of doing it, but now we’re going to have to prove it.

“I’ve told the players we are all going to stick together, we’re going to stick our chests out and go again and we’re going to get back to winning ways, and we need to do it quickly.

We need to play better for longer periods in the game and we’re certainly going to have to defend better. I think we’ve got attacking players who can score, but they didn’t score today.

“So, we’ll get back at it and do the job. When I came in, I didn’t think it was going to be easy, and in the main the players have been really good, but we weren’t good enough to day. But I do believe we are good enough to stay up.

“We massively have to stick together. If anything now, I’d say to the supporters, I’ll do everything I can for the players, I’ll get them the best I can get them, the best mental condition, the best nick, and if we’re not good enough that’s something else. I want the supporters to feel that as well.”