Steve McClaren commented:

"There’s no secret. He (Georginio Wijnaldum) has been seen around the place, he’s having a medical and all the scans that go with it. Hopefully we will get the results tomorrow and we can announce something. It’s not official. It is not over the line.

“I know him very well from when I was in Holland. He was a pain at Feyenoord and for PSV against my teams. He brings great quality and can play in any position in midfield. His physicality is good, tempo is good. He will be a good player in the Premier League.

"We have one or two other things that are very close that we can’t really comment on because it’s fragile and sensitive as you can expect with players’ agents and deals. Certainly Lee Charnley and Graham Carr are doing their best behind the scenes to get the right deals. We have to be patient.

"I think Remy Cabella is a doubt for America. He has picked up a knock on his thigh and we find out the results of a scan on Saturday.

"You don’t want to see bad injuries from friendlies and we won the game by penalty. I can’t fault the staff since I have been here, in terms of everything, they have been organised down to the last minute and the players have been great. It’s all about America now.”

Ex.mackem Malcolm Crosby said:

“We were up against a lot of quality and a lot of pace, and so whoever we brought onto the pitch had to do their job.

“We weren’t particularly great when we had the ball – we perhaps gave it away a little too quickly. But we kept our shape, and all in all, it’s been a fantastic week.

“The players have worked hard – even this morning, they trained hard – and they have gone and worked their socks off tonight.

“That can only be good for their fitness, as well as their morale as a team – they all stuck together, and they’ve done really well.

“I was particularly pleased with our resilience. We stuck with our shape against good opposition, and worked very hard.

“Obviously, we were disappointing in terms of possession, but you’re playing against a Premier League team, so you’re going to find it hard to see a lot of the ball.

“I’m very pleased with the minutes that everyone got under their belt. The players have been very good fitness-wise.

“You have to remember that when you’re chasing the ball a lot, it’s hard work. But they kept chasing it, and they kept working, so they’ll sleep well tonight I’m sure!”

Steve McClaren may have enjoyed a winning start to his Magpies career at the International Stadium, but the display he witnessed from his new side will have given him a measure of the challenges ahead.

Pre-season fixtures are a notoriously poor indication of how a team will fare in meaningful matches, but for a top flight side not to score a goal from open play against an unimpressive Conference outfit is a mild concern.

A sixth minute spot kick conversion from Papiss Cisse ultimately gave United victory and they fielded entirely different sides in both halves, but familiar frustrations were never far from view against the Tynesiders.

Fitness issues meant that both Steven Taylor and Paul Dummett missed out, while Fabricio Coloccini, Remy Cabella, Mehdi Abeid and Tim Krul weren't included and there was no sign of Sylvain Marveaux. 

Playing their first game under new boss Malcolm Crosby, the Heed included ex Magpies Matty Pattison and James Marwood but were on the back foot for the majority of the opening half - soaking up pressure and giving Karl Darlow and Jamaal Lascelles untroubled club debuts. 

Christening their pink and blue third strip, many visiting supporters were still finding their seats in the South Stand when Massadio Haidara was upended in the box.

Cisse easily beat Sam Russell from the spot kick, but Newcastle seldom looked like adding to their lead despite dominating possession. Their best move of the half saw Moussa Sissoko link up with Cisse on 29 minutes, only to blaze over the bar when his first effort was blocked.

There were 11 half time changes with "23rd man" Haris Vuckic warming up but getting no pitch time - although fellow Rangers loan duo Gael Bigirimana and Shane Ferguson did feature, as did long-term injury victims Cheick Tiote and Curtis Good. 

A lively start to the second period saw Adam Armstrong and Emmanuel Riviere both cut into the box, only to miscue their shots while Rolando Aarons looked bright having begun his own personal pre-season weeks ago.

Further chances followed, but United's shooting prowess didn't improve - the best chance of a second goal coming when Armstrong charging down a clearance but his shot towards goal was too soft and the 'keeper recovered.

And if the United head coach needed any evidence of the shortcomings of the squad he has inherited, then seeing Gabriel Obertan gallop forward with no end product, Yoan Gouffran wander around at half pace and Riviere confirm that his first instinct in front of goal is to close his eyes will have been most instructive. Try selling them....

What McClaren may not know though is that this game is routinely contested between the Gateshead first team and Newcastle reserves, who usually make a better fist of it than this lot did. Our last two senior visits here ended in 4-0 and 8-0 victories for the illustrious visitors.

Biffa