Newcastle United boss Steve Bruce feels that his side at least showed some “resilience” during the 1-0 loss at Burnley.
The defeat did not dent the seven-point gap between the Magpies and the bottom three in the Premier League.
And United are already looking forward to taking on Crystal Palace next Saturday back at St James’ Park.
Bruce said: “With the injury problems we had, we’re asking people to play a little bit out of position, but we’ve huffed and puffed all day and we’ve had two wonderful chances in Andy’s (Carroll) and the one that falls to Dwight Gayle.
“When he gets that, you’re thinking we’ve equalised, but unfortunately we haven’t taken it.
“But it was never going to be easy on a horrible day, it’s the worst conditions any footballer can play in. But the resilience was there.
“They never gave up and tried manfully to get something out of the game, but unfortunately we fell short.”
The defeat ended Newcastle’s unbeaten run in the Premier League of three games.
But Bruce felt that rookie referee Tim Robinson affected the game’s out come.
He said: “It’s frustrating. It’s disappointing to lose a game in the manner we did.
“We feel aggrieved that the referee has awarded them a corner, after initially giving a goal-kick when the ball wasn’t out.
“He’s then listened to somebody who’s probably 80 yards away, but it looked a foul and when I’ve seen it again, it’s a clear and blatant foul.
“Okay, we could have defended the corner better but we’re talking about a decision here that’s ultimately cost us the game.”
