Newcastle remain unsure on whether to replace Steve McClaren but Rafa Benitez and David Moyes are being considered as potential successors, according to English media reports.

McClaren took training on Tuesday and Wednesday morning but is still in the dark over his future as speculation grows on whether his nine-month tenure will come to an end.

The 54-year-old is under increasing pressure after Saturday's 3-1 home defeat by Bournemouth in the Premier League, with the club's directors holding talks without their head coach, who is also a board member, on Monday.

Relegation is a real threat with the Magpies in the drop zone with 10 matches left, but as they prepare for Monday's trip to Leicester, there remains a chance that McClaren will still be in charge at the end of the campaign if managing director Lee Charnley fails to find a worthy replacement.

In recent years Newcastle have issued statements when both Alan Pardew and John Carver came under intense scrutiny, but the club have this time failed to back their current head coach publicly or privately since Saturday.

Large sections of the home support chanted for McClaren to be axed during the Bournemouth loss but the former England coach has vowed to battle on, insisting he wanted to be in charge for the visit to Claudio Ranieri's table-toppers. 

Benitez is out of work following his sacking at Real Madrid in January and may be willing to consider a short-term agreement, similar to his tenure at Chelsea in 2012.

Moyes is another high-profile manager without employment after his dismissal at Real Sociedad last November.

McClaren took training as normal from 8am on Tuesday and in the afternoon he stayed behind with backroom staff Ian Cathro, Paul Simpson and Steve Black for meetings before leaving the training ground at 4pm.

Newcastle's official fans' forum has called for action in an open letter after growing frustrated with a season which statistically mirrors their relegation campaign in 2008/09.

It read: "What NUFC 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. Whilst we still have 10 games to go, NUFC Fans cannot accept the current work ethic of the players.

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