Steve McClaren hoping for positive Newcastle reaction against Watford

Newcastle manager Steve McClaren has admitted he was always expecting a "car crash" along the way as he attempted a rebuilding job at St James' Park.

The former England boss has £52m worth of summer signings to pick from after taking over a club which flirted heavily with relegation last season.

However, the Magpies head into Saturday's visit of Watford at the foot of the Premier League table, without a win and having not scored a league goal since the opening weekend.

They will hoping to bounce back from Monday's 2-0 defeat at West Ham when they take on the newly-promoted Hornets.

McClaren said: "Generally it is early season, we are learning about each other and the Premier League. The reaction, we will see on Saturday. You get back on the horse and the players are up for a reaction on Saturday. The players and fans expect that.

"We have had five games - two were with 10 men. In four games, our attitude has been spot-on, some of our play, some of our battling. Then Monday.

"We are in the process of building a new team, and with new players in the Premier League, in the process of trying to change things around in a football club, and during that process, it is a little bit like a car crash.

You know it is going to happen and you can't do anything

"You know it is going to happen and you can't do anything. You just wait for it to happen. Of course there is mental baggage. It is normal and natural when you look at the run of results. We the staff come in fresh not knowing what has gone on, and of course there is.

"We sensed that a little bit in pre-season - a couple of times we conceded a couple of goals, and the reaction wasn't favourable."