Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren hopes victory over West Brom eases the criticism of his squad.

Newcastle players have endured plenty of criticism in the last couple of games, but McClaren feels some of the negativity was unfair.

He said: “People over-react a lot. I would say four or five times I have genuinely come in after and been honest and said, 'That's unacceptable and not good enough'.

“The other times, and especially here, we have played good football, attacking football, the crowd has been fantastic and they have been great atmospheres and great games.

“We have got to continue that. We have got to improve our away form and show that kind of character away from home, be tough to beat, keep clean sheets, but playing the attacking football that we do."