Steve McClaren: Newcastle 'line up' David Moyes, Nigel Pearson and Rafael Benitez as ex-England boss nears exit

Moyes and Pearson are said to be open to the idea of replacing the 54-year-old, despite having just nine matches to save the Magpies' season, while Benitez would require more persuasion

Steve McClaren looks dejected on the St James' Park side-lines after another defeat (Getty)

Steve McClaren’s job at Newcastle United became increasingly perilous last night as it was reported that the club is pressing on with plans to contact David Moyes, Nigel Pearson and Rafael Benítez to measure their interest in the role.

The Independent believes that McClaren, whose side are 19^th in the Premier League with 10 games to play, expects to hold training as usual at the North East outfit’s Darsley Park complex while the club stage crisis talks about his future.

The former England manager is a member of the board of directors but a report by the Times claims he was not present at the meeting to decide his fate as the hierarchy look into courting a host of targets.

Newcastle’s leadership is made up of Lee Charnley, the managing director, Graham Carr, the chief scout, and Bob Moncur, a club ambassador, as well as McClaren himself.

Moyes and Pearson are said to be open to the idea of replacing the 54-year-old despite having just 10 matches to rescue the Magpies’ season. Intriguingly, if the latter was to be entrusted with the reigns at St James’ Park, his first match in charge would be against Leicester City, the club who sacked him in July after guiding them to safety last season.

Pearson has twice managed Newcastle on an interim basis, either side of Sam Allardyce’s ill-fated reign on Tyneside, and has experience of avoiding relegation with Carlisle United, Southampton and Leicester.

The former Hull City manager still considers himself to be a Premier League manager and has been prepared to wait until the right moment to ensure he remains in the top-flight of English football.

Moyes, meanwhile, appears to have warmed to the idea of working under chairman Mike Ashley after previously expressing reservations about the controversial businessman. Following spells with Manchester United and Real Sociedad, as short-lived as they were disappointing, the 52-year-old’s stock is low but his achievements at Everton remain a feather in his cap.

Benítez represents the least likely of Newcastle’s first-choice candidates to take the post having only left 10-time European champions Real Madrid in January but the Spaniard is known to prefer a return to England in the coming months.

Ashley was not in attendance to witness their 3-1 home collapse against Bournemouth, but Charnley, alongside PR officer Keith Bishop, faced the indignity of having television cameras fixed on them throughout the ordeal.

Despite spending £120m on talent across the last four transfer windows, there is a feeling on the Tyne that more business is still needed if Newcastle are to establish themselves as a Premier League club who can claim to be secure, both on and off the field, without provoking sniggers from the wider public.

Meanwhile, the North East outfit have been told it is “time for action and accountability” in a fiercely-worded statement composed by the NUFC Fans’ Forum.

“Someone has to be accountable and decisions must be made,” it said last night. “What Newcastle fans want is a team of 11 players in black and white shirts that understand their role to perform to their maximum - week in, week out.

“We have entrusted the board of NUFC to ensure that the right personnel are in place to carry out this basic expectation.”