Inexperienced, lacking the drive needed to manage in the Premiership and found wanting at the highest level.

A harsh assessment of a manager who won 33 of his 73 matches as Newcastle boss?

Probably. But this is not the judgement of a cast down chairman or a frustrated fan. This was Glenn Roeder's view of his own position as he was asked to explain why he was reluctant to become Newcastle's permanent manager last February.

They are words that have returned to haunt both him and his employers at Newcastle United.

"Normally, the first question a caretaker manager gets asked is, 'Do you want the job?'," said Roeder, after he had been appointed as Graeme Souness' temporary successor following a successful stint in charge of the Magpies' Academy.

"The answer is always no, but most caretaker managers actually do. I don't -and that's the truth.

"This is not a job for me. I'm capable of doing the job in the short-term - whether that's one week, one month or to the end of the season.

"But, in the longer-term, I'm not interested. After everything that happened at West Ham, I sat down with my wife and we came to a joint decision. It's not something I'm going to go back on."

How most Newcastle supporters must be wishing that the Londoner had remained true to his word.

For while Roeder's geniality was never in question during his 15 months in the St James' Park hotseat, all of the doubts and insecurities that dogged him in the early days of his temporary tenure undermined him fatally in the end.

As predicted, he proved more than capable of doing a decent job in the short term. Amid all of the acrimony that has accompanied the final throes of this season, Roeder's successful steadying of the ship 12 months ago should not be forgotten.

But when it came to making long-term progress, to maintaining the momentum that his arrival had initially generated, the 51-year-old quickly discovered that he was out of his depth.

Football has changed from the days when a boot-room mentality guaranteed a swift transition from back-room boy to leading light.

Today, the Premiership demands more of its managers than a quiet affability and a knowledge of training-ground routines.

It demands charisma and personality. It calls for inspirational leadership and astute man-management skills, allied to an ability to attract and motivate some of the leading players in the world. When it came to these challenges, Roeder failed to answer every question that was asked of him.

With neither a forceful personality nor an Arsene Wenger-like intellect to call upon, the former Newcastle skipper was unable to inspire or discipline players who earned more in a month than he would receive in a year.

Sources close to the club this weekend confirmed what most observers had suspected for long enough - Roeder had lost the respect of the dressing room and, with it, any hope of retaining his position.

It is hard to imagine someone like Roy Keane standing by idly as Charles N'Zogbia chatted on his mobile telephone while sitting in the dug-out at Portsmouth, as happened only last month.

Similarly, it is unlikely that the likes of Damien Duff, Kieron Dyer and Celestine Babayaro would have been so utterly ineffective had they been playing for a manager who commanded their utmost respect.

By the end, Roeder had become something of a laughing stock within his own squad and, to make matters worse, it was not only his own players who were unimpressed with him.

Newcastle's season might have been different had Jonathan Woodgate moved to Tyneside last summer but after meeting Roeder at the club's training ground - an event that the Newcastle manager continued to insist did not happen - the Middlesbrough centre-half swiftly decided that his future lay elsewhere.

In fairness, Roeder's desire to sign Woodgate was always in doubt - many believe that Freddy Shepherd was the driving force behind that proposed transfer - but his failure to stand up to his chairman and board was merely another nail in his coffin.

When Roeder failed to stand up for his former assistant Kevin Bond as he was relieved of his position following a Panorama investigation into alleged corruption in football, it was obvious that his authority was limited at best.

Yet when he was allowed to make his own decisions, they invariably turned out to be flawed anyway.

How must James Milner have felt after he was told to drive to Birmingham for a medical at Aston Villa, only to be hastily ordered to change direction when a move for Mark Viduka fell through at the final minute?

To Milner's immense credit, his performances have provided one of the few bright spots in an otherwise gloomy season. But no footballer, and especially not such a young one, should be subjected to such a public humiliation.

And what on earth was Roeder thinking when he allegedly entered the dressing room at Everton to discuss allegations of racial abuse that were being levelled at one of his players?

Perhaps he was acting in good faith throughout.

But despite the Football Association failing to prove whether Emre was guilty of racist comments or not, there is a perception that Roeder attempted to sweep the matter under the carpet at Goodison Park while the facts were still uncertain.

Tellingly, there is also a feeling that his tactical skills were every bit as lacking as his judgement.

Injuries undoubtedly hampered Newcastle's cause this season - had Michael Owen been fit for whole of the campaign, they might even have been eyeing a European place next term - but many of Roeder's team selections have come in for sustained and deserved criticism.

Setting his stall out for a draw in Alkmaar proved terminal to his side's UEFA Cup chances, while a stubborn refusal to drop the likes of Stephen Carr and Titus Bramble won him few friends amongst an increasingly disillusioned support.

Those mistakes fuelled a resentment that broke into undisguised hostility at the weekend, resulting in the name of Newcastle being added to a roll of dishonour that already includes Gillingham, Watford and West Ham.

After being sacked at the latter following a campaign that saw the Hammers relegated despite a tally of 42 points, Roeder claimed he had "hit the post".

Having garnered just 42 points for the Magpies this season, he hasn't even come that close to the target on Tyneside.