Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren has insisted that his side will move up the Premier League table if they maintain the level of their recent performances.
The Magpies had the better of the opening 44 minutes of their Wear-Tyne derby clash against Sunderland before captain Fabricio Coloccini was dismissed, and the Black Cats went on to win the match 3-0 at the Stadium of Light.
McClaren was furious with the decision of referee Bobby Madley to send off the Argentine, which was later rescinded by the Football Association. However, the 54-year-old says that his side's display with 10 men has given him confidence for their upcoming matches.
He told reporters: "If we play like that and keep 11 players on the pitch, we will win eight or nine out of 10 games. You can see the progress. Some of our football was fantastic and that's progress. You don't have to be rocket scientists and experts in football to know that we dominated that game.
"We felt a lot of injustice against us. But you can't feel sorry for yourselves and you have to get back to work. We have done that, I think the fans have moved on quickly and what we have got to do is keep reproducing those performances week in, week out.
"We have shown what we are capable of doing and at times, our football was excellent. We created chances, which we weren't doing earlier in the season, so when I look in the long term, keep 11 players on the park and I can see this team winning games. In the short term, we'd like to start winning tomorrow."
The Magpies face Stoke City in the Premier League at St James' Park on Saturday.
Simon Sinclair
