MARTIN DUBRAVKA is hoping Saturday’s 3-0 defeat to West Ham does not do too much damage to Newcastle United’s confidence, and is calling for an immediate reaction when the Magpies return to action at Everton on Wednesday.

Newcastle’s three-game winning run came crashing to an end as Javier Hernandez’s double, plus a stoppage-time strike from Felipe Anderson, condemned them to their heaviest defeat of the season.

The reverse leaves the Magpies three points clear of the relegation zone, and undid at least some of the good work that had seen Rafael Benitez’s side record victories over Watford, Bournemouth and Burnley.

Those successes transformed the mood on Tyneside, and while Dubravka accepts shipping three goals on home soil was a setback, he does not feel Saturday’s defeat should send his side back to square one.

“We have to be critical of ourselves, but I think we also showed some good things in the game,” said the Slovakian goalkeeper. “Of course, we made three or four big mistakes and West Ham took advantage of that.

“We know we should have scored a few goals of our own because we had the chances to do it, but we didn’t manage it. We felt confident beforehand, especially at home, we’d had three victories in a row and wanted to show our fans we could give them another one but sometimes things just don’t go the right way for you.

“There were many things we could improve on, but we also shouldn’t be too hard on ourselves. There was stuff there we should be proud of. We need to draw on the three victories we had before, and I really hope that this defeat against a quality team doesn’t take us back to the position we were in nearer the start of the season.”

Whereas Newcastle had impressed on the counter-attack as they won at Burnley last Monday, this time it was the Magpies who were sliced apart by their opponents’ ability on the break.

Anderson and Marko Arnautovic caused havoc playing off Hernandez, and West Ham’s win would have been even more emphatic had Dubravka not made a couple of decent second-half saves.

“West Ham are good on the break, but we knew that,” he said. “They have some quality players on the counter-attack, but we were trying to push them and trying to create some chances.

“We were too open and they punished us. They have quality players, but in those circumstances you can’t give them the space we did. Sometimes, it was their four players against two of ours and that makes it impossible.

“You get games like that sometimes, but we have to get it out of our system. We have another game on Wednesday, and that’s really good because it helps us to move on from this.”

Benitez is also hoping this week’s trip to Goodison Park will provide an opportunity to draw a line under Saturday’s defeat, although the Newcastle boss will have to make changes in two days’ time. Matt Ritchie is suspended after picking up his fifth booking of the season, and Benitez could also opt to revert to a five-man backline.

“I hope it’s good to have the game,” said Benitez. “We have lost and we have to change quickly. We have more competition for places and we have to analyse, see how the players are and decide what to do. Ritchie is suspended, but it’s an opportunity for someone, that’s it.”