Ebbsfleet United boss Steve Brown has spoken out about the calls for his friend and former team-mate Alan Pardew to be sacked as Newcastle manager.

Pardew is under immense pressure on Tyneside and Brown, who is still in touch with the 53-year-old, has been saddened by the way he's been pushed almost to the St James' Park exit door.

Brown said: "I know Alan very well. He’s got very thick skin and he’ll be prepared for the situation because it goes with the territory when you’re at the top.

"I don’t like to hear negatives and personal attacks on people in football because you're trying to do the best you can in whatever job or situation you find yourself. But you do understand that every supporter has his own view, his own opinion.

"But it’s got to the levels now at Newcastle where there’s a passion for them to see him removed. I don’t like to hear of any manager, especially a friend, under that much pressure. It’s not healthy. People think they’ve got a divine right to have a pop and gang up on a manager.

"What happens is there’s a snowball effect. When there’s a little bit of annoyance on the terraces, there’s this social media side of it which is the worst thing in football. I can’t explain to you how bad the social media side of things is because – I hate to say this – it could be an agent going on there, stirring things up. It could be somebody who lives in Australia.

"It’s in the game and it’s the worst side of football. It takes away from the genuine supporters who do have a genuine view and see things in a more educated manner. They understand football a bit more so their views are a little bit more understanding."

Pardew signed defender Brown in 2002 when he was Reading manager. The pair spent four seasons together at Charlton Athletic earlier in their careers.

Brown said: "I hope he stays in the job but someone said there was a poll and 85% (of fans) want him removed. How do you come back against that? The only way you come back is to win four games on the trot.

"I know this, I’ve worked with Alan and he’s a very good manager and a very good coach. He won’t be down for long. If the inevitable happens, which three-quarters of Newcastle want to see, he’ll find work, no problem, because he’s a super manager.

"But that doesn’t take away from the pressure. It’s not nice. It just won’t stop. You get home, you try to put it to one side, you try to have a glass of wine with your missus but unfortunately, when an attack comes, and the snowball effect comes, it’s very hard to escape. They won’t stop until he’s removed and then they’ll go onto the next manager who’s under pressure.

"It’s ruining the game a little bit. Some very good people are losing their jobs.

"There’s always a point when a relationship comes to an end, whether it be a player’s contract or when it’s time for a manager to move on. But I don’t like the bit where it intensifies in the press, the media, social media.

"It’s not nice to see because we’re human beings at the end of the day, getting up, going to sleep, breathing air – but we seem to have to take a lot of stick."