James Morrison says he was really proud of the “effort” and the “quality” on display from his side at St. James’ Park on Wednesday night.
Albion went toe-to-toe with the Premier League outfit in round two of the Carabao Cup and were narrowly edged out 3-2.
Isaac Price bagged his second brace in four days, but a close-range finish from summer signing Bazoumana Toure and a second-half Harvey Barnes double ensured passage to the next stage of the competition for the Magpies.
The boss insists his players can take plenty of belief from the way they performed against a team who were competing in the knockout stages of the UEFA Champions League just six months ago.
Morrison said: “I’m really proud of the lads. We matched Newcastle at times and we caused them a lot of problems at times.
“Going to places like Newcastle, you have to manage momentum. They came out of the blocks really quickly in the opening ten minutes and we had to get through that period. We grew into the game after that.
“I was a bit disappointed with the timing of the second goal, right at the start of the second half. However, we came back into it, we competed and we played some nice stuff. I’m really happy with the performance.
“Going into the game, I was confident that we could cause them some problems. I gave the players the belief and I showed them that we could go there and cause those problems. I don’t want us to go to places and sit back. I want us to go and impose ourselves and play the game that we’ve been playing and that we’ve been working on.
“Credit to the lads tonight for sticking to our game plan and executing it. The lads were all disappointed in the dressing room after the game, but I told them that nobody should be disappointed with the effort and the quality that they’ve shown tonight.
“It’s a three-game week and our eye was on Saturday as well, but I’m happy with the lads who played tonight. They deserved to play because they work hard every day in training. There’s competition, which is what I want. They showed tonight that they’re knocking on the door and that they’re ready to play.
“We can take the confidence and belief from tonight into a huge game on Saturday. I was after a performance to keep that good feeling going and I got it. Now it’s about preparing properly and getting ready physically for Saturday.
“We had an unbelievable level of support tonight. I can’t thank our fans enough. They are certainly playing their part. I want them to stick with us, which I know they will do.”
