Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren challenged his players to bounce back against Chelsea on Saturday after they were bundled out of the League Cup by second-tier Sheffield Wednesday.
Lewis McGugan’s 76th-minute goal gave the Owls a shock 1-0 win on Wednesday at St James’ Park to set up a fourth-round home game with Arsenal.
Newcastle have now won just once in eight games this season and with a chorus of boos having greeted the final whistle, new manager McClaren is under pressure to turn things around.
Asked if he was embarrassed by the result, the former England manager replied: “I’ve been in football too long to be embarrassed. Angry, disappointed.
“Things like that can happen in football, we said that beforehand, and yes, it’s a very disappointing result and evening for everybody.
“We have said to the players, ‘You can’t feel sorry for yourselves. You have got to come out on Saturday and be a fighter or a victim.’ And it’s one or the other, and we can only have fighters on there now.”
Wednesday manager Carlos Carvalhal was delighted after steering the Hillsborough club into round four for the first time since the 2001-02 season, when they reached the semi-finals.
“I am very happy with the players,” said the Portuguese, who made 10 changes to his starting side.
“They were perfect in the strategy that we brought to this match. They gave 100 percent to the team and to our strategy, so I am very happy with them.”