NEWCASTLE’S shambolic start to the season plumbed new depths as they were dumped out of the Capital One Cup by Championship opposition, with Steve McClaren admitting his players are struggling to find a way to turn things around.

Lewis McGugan’s second-half strike enabled a Sheffield Wednesday side featuring ten changes to claim a 1-0 win at St James’ Park, and ensured Newcastle exited the League Cup at the third-round stage despite this summer’s pledge to “take the cup competitions seriously”.

The Magpies have now claimed just four wins in all competitions since the start of the calendar year, with Wednesday night’s dreadful display marking a new low in terms of their struggles.

Their fortunes are unlikely to improve quickly given that their next two league games pit them against Chelsea and Manchester United, but McClaren admits his players cannot afford to feel sorry for themselves despite their latest embarrassment.

They were booed off at both the half-time and full-time whistles, with McClaren coming in for particular criticism as he left the field.

“I’ve been in football too long to be embarrassed,” said the Newcastle head coach. “But I am angry and disappointed. Things like that can happen in football, we said that beforehand.

“It is a very disappointing result and evening for everyone. We had enough possession and enough of the ball and created enough chances. But if you don't score, you don't win.

“The longer the game went on there was a nervousness, around the stadium and on the field. You can sense that and you can sense this kind of thing coming.

“I have said to the players, ‘You can’t feel sorry for yourselves, you have to come out on Saturday and be a fighter or a victim’. It is one or the other, and we can only have fighters on there now.

“We have the quality, but we are not producing it. It is hard to put your finger on why, but we have to find it.”

McClaren’s team selection was flawed, with Siem de Jong appearing unsuited to the lone striker role he was handed at kick-off and Georginio Wijnaldum lost in a no-man’s land between attack and midfield.

However, it was the complete lack of confidence and spirit within the Newcastle squad that was the most alarming aspect of the display, with McClaren admitting his players’ mental attitude has to change.

“It is a mentality thing,” he said. “You can go into those games and feel sorry for yourself, but we can’t have that and we can’t make excuses.

“I am not here to criticise individuals. Whatever I say will never be enough to vindicate the performance and the result. The only thing we can do is get in, in the morning, and prepare for Chelsea.”

Aleksandar Mitrovic’s return from suspension should at least help bolster the attack on Saturday, with Wednesday night's attacking problems underlined by the fact that it was the 85th minute before Newcastle recorded a shot on target, and even then Wijnaldum’s strike was a tame effort that failed to trouble Sheffield Wednesday goalkeeper Joe Wildsmith.

“We had plenty of the ball in the final third and shots, but we didn’t hit the target enough,” said McClaren. “We are missing strikers, with two injured (Papiss Cisse and Emmanuel Riviere). We are trying things to alleviate that, but at the present moment, results dictate it is not working.”