NO matter how ‘naive’ Steve McClaren thinks Garry Monk was with his post-match comments at the Liberty Stadium, the Newcastle United head coach would certainly have liked to be in his Swansea City counterpart’s shoes.

McClaren spent the majority of the 90 minutes in South Wales making gestures of frustration; first when he was sat in the directors’ box in the main stand and then when he was stood in the technical area.

He was up and down, fists clenched, face growling and barking orders – often going unheard or ignored – to some of his players at a noisy venue where Swansea supporters are used to seeing Premier League victories.

And while McClaren became more annoyed as the minutes ticked by, Monk was a picture of calmness; rarely even opening his mouth.

Swansea are in a good place after years of gradually developing a team worthy of competing for a top half finish in the Premier League. Unlike Newcastle, who can only dream of the possibility of challenging for a Europa League spot this season.

McClaren accepts that. This was only his second competitive game after all, and he must have had envious eyes when he watched Bafetimbi Gomis skip round Tim Krul and convert the opening goal and then Andre Ayew powerfully head in a second from a wonderful Jefferson Montero cross.

Both Gomis and Ayew are two players Newcastle’s chief scout Graham Carr has scouted for years. By the end, Montero was another player who the Magpies boss will admire.

“Swansea as a team performance, they were fantastic all over the pitch,” said defender Steven Taylor. “It was not just about Montero, they played well as a whole. We just weren't at it. Swansea fully deserved it and respect has to go to Swansea. They played us off the park. We have to hold our hands up and say no excuses.”

Taylor was right. Swansea defended strongly, with Georiginio Wijnaldum and Papiss Cisse never looking likely to add to the goal each they scored in the opening weekend draw with Southampton.

Then Jack Colback and Vurnon Anita were given the run around throughout by the triangular Swansea midfield of Jonjo Shelvey, Jack Cork and then the superb Gylfi Sigurdsson, who hit the bar with a stunning shot.

But Montero and Ayew did the damage. Montero, particularly cost Newcastle dearly by worrying Daryl Janmaat so much that he picked up two yellow cards for incidents for fouls on the same player. If the rulebook had allowed it, Janmaat would have had more.

He had already went through the back of the Ecuadorian winger when he was booked for a strong challenge deep in the Swansea half in the 17th minute and, in almost the same spot, the Holland defender then tugged the shirt of the player after he had taken him on.

By that point Gomis, who Newcastle tried to sign on numerous occasions under Alan Pardew, had capitalised on a lovely through pass from Shelvey in the ninth minute so there was effectively no way back.

Taylor, introduced for the second half to try to shore up the defence, said: “When you are down to ten men, it is difficult to win a game, especially here coming to a side full of confidence who got a good result at Chelsea; that gave them a massive boost of confidence.

“We saw that in the first half and we never performed from start to finish. We never got going and probably gave them a bit too much respect.

“It was just too easy for them to play out and play through us. We found it difficult to cope with that. But for us we have to regroup, there are no positives for us to take. Next week we have got to get back.”

When Ayew, a free signing after leaving Marseille and someone linked for months with Newcastle, rose above Fabricio Coloccini to power in the second six minutes after the break it was essentially all over.

The only blessing was that there were no further goals, while Newcastle’s only decent effort was when Gabriel Obertan’s darting run ended with a shot turned away by Lukasz Fabianski.

McClaren felt that the outcome was basically as a result of referee Mike Jones’ decision to send off Janmaat – who apologised for his stupidity – and dismissed Monk’s claims that the dismissal was a result of tactics to “kick” Swansea’s players. McClaren even suggested his opposite number’s comments smacked of “naivety all round”.

Either way Janmaat was at fault for his ridiculous pull on the shirt of Montero when the game was still tight. Taylor said: “He knows and the group know what a top player he is and a massive player in the dressing room. He is absolutely devastated. You could see his face as soon as we came in.

“He has apologised and like anyone who gets sent off, they always hold their hands up, we have no-one who hides or players who don't want to accept responsibility. He has been spot on.”