Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren has urged his side to take their opportunities in their Premier League clash against Stoke City.
The Magpies had the better of the first half in their match against Sunderland, attempting 21 shots throughout the contest, only to lose 3-0 at the Stadium of Light following Fabricio Coloccini's dismissal.
McClaren has insisted that his side have to respond to their setback by taking the match to the Potters, who beat Chelsea in the Capital One Cup during the week on penalties.
"We will expect a vibrant, very good Stoke team who have an excellent manager and squad who can take the club forward," McClaren told the club's official website.
"They played 120 minutes in midweek and got a good result but I don't think that will be a factor. The fitness of teams nowadays is such that you can play a game on Tuesday and still be ready to go again at the weekend without a problem.
"We had a very disappointing result against Sunderland but we've had a very good week off the field - very focused and intense. We've been reflecting on one of the strangest derbies I've been involved in. We know we have to take our chances. [Against Sunderland] we had 21 attempts, eight on target, we took our chances against Norwich and we need to do that again tomorrow."
Newcastle are 19th in the Premier League ahead of their meeting with the Potters.
Simon Sinclair
