STEVE McCLAREN claims it was an ‘easy decision’ to pick Gabriel Obertan for the opening game of the season – and has pledged to continue selecting the Newcastle winger if he maintains the standards he set against Southampton.

Obertan’s presence in Sunday’s starting line-up caused more than a few eyebrows to rise, with the Frenchman having struggled to establish himself as a first-team regular throughout his four years with the Magpies.

However, he produced an impressive display which was capped by the sensational cross that led to Georginio Wijnaldum’s second-half goal, and McClaren is hoping for more of the same as he prepares to name an unchanged side for tomorrow’s trip to Swansea City.

The Newcastle head coach said: “He did a fine job last week – not just defensively, but also because he created a goal.

“That’s what he is capable of doing. He’s a terrific talent – so quick and so strong. He’s a Premier League player, and it wasn’t a big call to pick him – it was something we had to do.”

With Papiss Cisse set to continue in the starting line-up at the Liberty Stadium, Aleksandar Mitrovic will have to wait for his first senior start.

The Serbian striker made quite an impact when he came off the substitute’ bench last weekend, although it wasn’t quite what might have been intended as he picked up a yellow card within three seconds for a reckless challenge on Matt Targett.

McClaren has discussed the incident with Mitrovic this week, although he accepts it would be wrong to remove too much devilment from the £12m signing’s play.

He said: “We said, ‘You’ve got to make an impact’, and that’s what he did. But maybe it was too much of an impact.

“He has to concentrate on playing football, but we can’t take away that devilish aggression that was there going into the first game, although we will talk about it again going into the second game.”