Mike Ashley insists he was joking when he said Newscastle manager Alan Pardew would lose his job if his side lost to Stoke on Monday.

Ashley told The Independent that, if Newcastle lose to Stoke, Pardew is “finished”. On Friday Ashley’s lawyers insisted the billionaire was intende3d to be tongue in cheek.

The comments were made in late on Thursday evening, outside a London bar. Ashley said to a reporter with The Independent:

“He’s got one more game.

“If we lose against Stoke on Monday night then he’s gone. I have had enough.”

Making a throat-cutting gesture, Ashley added: “Dead. Finished. Over. One more game then that’s it. What would you do? I have spent a lot of money on that club, it’s cost me a lot. I won’t put up with it any more. Honestly, answer me, what would you do? One more loss and he’s gone, he’s over, finished.”

“That’s all I’m prepared to say about it and now that I’ve said it, it’s out there. You can do what you want with it. There’s only so much I can take.”

Ashley had so far publicly backed Pardew as the team started with just 3 points so far this season, and have won just five games in all of 2014.

Lawyers for Ashely told The Independent: “Mr Ashley responded, tongue in cheek, that Mr Pardew had two more games before being sacked. To put this into perspective, over the past few weeks certain reporters have stated that they believe that Mr Pardew has two more games before being sacked. Mr Ashley was therefore ‘humouring’ your reporter.”

Pardew has an eight year contract with NEwcfastle, starting in 2012, although a clause allows Ashely to sack Pardew and break the contract.