STEVE McCLAREN insists he has no intention of walking away from Newcastle United, even though he accepts the process of turning the club around is a “painful” one.

McClaren has endured a difficult week in the wake of last weekend’s 3-0 defeat to Leicester City, with the delivery of some harsh home truths having sparked a passionate reaction from a number of his senior players.

Amid talk of a series of heated training-ground discussions involving skipper Fabricio Coloccini and midfielder Moussa Sissoko in particular, McClaren admitted that training had been “feisty”, but denied this week’s scenes had been anything out of the ordinary.

He did, however, concede that last weekend’s display was indicative of a wider malaise that has seen Newcastle claim just five victories from their 32 Premier League matches since the start of the year.

The former England boss always envisaged a difficult task when he agreed to take over from John Carver in the summer, and on that score, he has not been disappointed.

However, while he accepts there will almost certainly be further challenges to come, he insists he remains as committed and confident of eventual success as ever.

“Do I still believe in the project here? Absolutely,” said McClaren, who flew to London with the rest of his squad last night ahead of this afternoon’s game with Crystal Palace. “Would I ever be tempted to walk away? Absolutely not.

“I always knew this was going to be tough, and from the comments of other people, I think they knew it was going to be tough too. We all did, but it’s about turning it around, and it’s a long process.

“At times, it’s a painful one. I don’t like watching my teams performing like they did last week, and that was certainly painful to watch.

“But I like to get out on the training field and do something about it, and that’s what we’ve been doing. How long a process is it to turn things around? At the moment, it’s a bit like, ‘How long’s a piece of string?’”

One of the main accusations levelled at Newcastle’s players in the wake of last weekend’s capitulation is that they do not care deeply enough about the club’s plight.

The likes of Sissoko, Aleksandar Mitrovic and Georginio Wijnaldum are established internationals, yet they seemed to be cruising through last weekend’s game despite Leicester’s players running rings around them.

Newcastle’s policy of signing inexperienced players from overseas might increase their chances of landing a bargain, but does it also saddle them with a squad who lack the mettle required to survive in the Premier League and the collective resolve and spirit that is needed to spark a positive reaction when the chips are down?

McClaren insists it would be wrong to question his players’ commitment, and instead points to their collective experience of struggling in the wrong half of the table as an explanation for why they remain so fragile and prone to collapse.

Newcastle might have made more than £50m of additions in the summer, but the likes of Coloccini, Daryl Janmaat, Cheick Tiote, Sissoko and Papiss Cisse all spent the second half of last season contributing to a lengthy losing run, and McClaren feels the fall-out from that struggle is still having an effect.

“The players care, and I’m confident about that,” he said. “We’ve seen that this week because we’ve had a great week on the training pitch. It has been feisty, competitive and energetic – all the things we lacked last Saturday.

“I love feisty sessions, and it was. We got the message across, and that was just what we needed. We explained why we lost (to Leicester), and for three days we have been sorting it out.

“But some of these players have spent a lot of time in the wrong half of the table, losing games, and that’s a massive mindset. Turning that around is massive. That is what is a slow, and at times painful, process, but sometimes you have to go through that.

“We have to change them, but the only way to get belief and change is to get results, and we’ve been inconsistent. We look like we’re getting there, but then it’s, ‘Woah, two steps back’.

“You cannot measure it (the fall-out from the last few seasons), but you can certainly see it and it’s bound to have an effect. When you nearly go an entire year without an away win, that’s bound to have an effect on the players.

“They can’t feel sorry for themselves though. They’re the ones who have to get out there and do something about it.”

McClaren can at least call upon the services of Jack Colback this afternoon, with the fit-again midfielder set to replace Cheick Tiote, who has not recovered from the injury he sustained in last weekend’s defeat.

Massadio Haidara faces up to four months on the sidelines however, as he damaged his knee ligaments in training this week and is set to undergo surgery in France.

“It was a strange one with Massadio,” said McClaren. “No one was near him, and he just went out there to try to slide a ball out, and went down on his knee. Now, he could be out for four months.”