Newcastle chief Steve Diamond had a face like thunder and insisted the off-field issues reported earlier in the week “gave no excuses”.
If new investment is not found, a loan of around £4m will be needed to fund Falcons’ next season with recruitment on hold.
Diamond said: “The off-field stuff shouldn’t have an effect on the players, and I don’t think we can hide behind that. We’ve communicated with the squad and staff all throughout, and this isn’t a Worcester or a Wasps scenario.”
On the performance, he said: “We need to look at ourselves. We didn’t convert our chances and were poor in defe...