Steve McClaren keen to put Newcastle's Villa frustrations behind him

Newcastle manager Steve McClaren wants his side and the St James' Park crowd to put the frustrations of the 1-1 draw with Aston Villa behind them when Everton visit Tyneside on Boxing Day.

The Magpies were expected to follow up back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Tottenham by beating bottom-of-the-table Villa, but had to settle for a point in the pouring rain after Jordan Ayew cancelled out Fabricio Coloccini's first-half goal.

Newcastle missed a number of chances to win the game and were booed by some of their fans at the final whistle.

McClaren says he can understand the supporters' frustrations but is keen to move on and has called on them to play their part with another difficult game in prospect against the Toffees.

"It's three games, seven points, we'd have taken that well before the Liverpool game," he said. "So we have just got to continue, that's gone and it's Everton next - tough, tough opponents and a very good team.

"The crowd, the majority of the time, were excellent against Aston Villa. They were horrendous conditions, it was a real level playing field the game and everybody got soaked and were frustrated at times, so we have just got to press on against Everton.

"The crowd are going to be important again on Boxing Day. We are going to need them right behind us.

"The frustration was there [against Villa] and we were exactly the same. It's the same around every ground, no fans are any different - they want to see their team win.

"We had a 15-minute spell in the game where Aston Villa got on top, but we came back well and ended the game well which really pleased me."

Striker Papiss Cisse is a major doubt for the Everton game after hobbling off with a groin injury against Villa, but he is still waiting for the results of a second scan before his absence can be confirmed, although there are concerns he could miss the entire festive programme.

McClaren said: "He's had a scan and he needs a second opinion on another to gauge the severity, how long [he will be out]. We still don't know, but he's a doubt for the weekend."

Central defender Jamaal Lascelles returned to training on Tuesday after his hamstring injury and could be back in contention for the game.

Centre-back Steven Taylor (hamstring), midfielder Rolando Aarons (foot) and striker Emmanuel Riviere (knee) are also on the comeback trail.

McClaren added: "Jamaal trained this morning for the first time; Rolando will train at the end of the week and Manu will be training by the end of the week.

"Steven Taylor is coming on really well, so a fortnight into January he could be back training as well, so it's good news on that front."