IT was billed as Survival Sunday, but it turned out to be a North-East Nightmare as Newcastle and Middlesbrough were both relegated from the Premier League on the same afternoon.

Newcastle’s 1-0 defeat at Aston Villa condemned them to the Championship, while Middlesbrough will join their neighbours in English football’s second tier next season after a 2-1 defeat at West Ham.

From a regional perspective, the only saving grace of a miserable campaign is that West Brom’s 20th-place finish means one of the region’s clubs will still grace the Premier League in August.

Sunderland survived despite a 3-2 home defeat to Chelsea, but are currently managerless after Ricky Sbragia stood down in the immediate aftermath of yesterday’s reverse.

Newcastle’s relegation caused the biggest shock waves, with Alan Shearer last night admitting that “big decisions”

are needed if the club are to avoid a financial meltdown.

The Magpies will lose more than £50m following their relegation from the top-flight, and with their present annual wage bill topping the £80m mark, owner Mike Ashley will almost certainly have to add to the £280m investment he has already made just to keep the club afloat.

He will sit down with Shearer later this week to discuss Newcastle’s summer plans, with Newcastle’s all-time record goalscorer sure to seek a number of assurances before he extends the temporary managerial reign that ended yesterday.

“There are huge problems Down and out . . . but it’s relief for Sunderland at the football club – I think that’s clear for everyone to see,” said Shearer, who saw Damien Duff’s own goal confirm the Magpies’ relegation.

“Relegation isn’t about today – it’s about what’s gone on this season, last season and the season before. It’s a culmination of everything. In the end, the three worst teams go down and, unfortunately, Newcastle are one of them.”

Middlesbrough also fall into that category, and while the Teessiders were as good as down before yesterday’s game, confirmation of their demise still led to emotional scenes on Teesside.

Boro chairman Steve Gibson will hold his own postmortem later this week, but is expected to ask manager Gareth Southgate to continue in his current position.

“I want to stay,” said Southgate, who received a mixed reception from supporters yesterday, after being booed the previous weekend.

“Inevitably, there’s going to be an adverse reaction from the supporters and there’ll be many who want me to move on.

“But I feel I would like that challenge. We’ve failed as a football club and I take responsibility for that, but we know the reasons why.”

Having been promoted from a coaching role following the departure of Roy Keane, Sbragia stood down despite Sunderland surviving by two points.

He will return to his former position, with chairman Niall Quinn set to compile a managerial shortlist that could include former Middlesbrough manager Steve McClaren, ex-Spurs chief Martin Jol, and Celtic boss Gordon Strachan.

Northumbria Police said there were a number of incidents of disorder in the North- East after the matches, but the majority of fans watching the game in pubs and clubs were well-behaved.

Chief Superintendent Neil Mackay, head of the force’s operations unit, said: “There were a number of reports of disorder at public houses within the force area, which were dealt with quickly by police without any significant problems."