Rafa Benitez admitted he is considering stripping “clown” Jonjo Shelvey of the captaincy before insisting Harry Kane should have been sent off.
Shelvey was given his marching orders for stamping on Dele Alli but Benitez insisted that Kane’s challenge on Florian Lejeune was even worse and yet the England captain escaped with a yellow card.
Sky pundit Graeme Souness, the former Newcastle boss, said Shelvey was to blame for the defeat as it was goalless when he saw red. Souness added: “He's gone from captain to clown in the space of ten seconds.”
When asked whether he will axe Shelvey as captain, Newcastle boss Benitez said: “We will see in the future. It is too early. He knows he has made a mistake and he apologised in the dressing room.
“I would also like to say that the tackle from behind from Harry Kane was worse, the rules are the rules, and we paid for that.
“I said it was worse because I had to change one player. Yes (it was a scissor challenge). Watching the replay again from the bench in front of the fourth official, it was a surprise.”
Tottenham boss Mauricio Pochettino defended Kane and also praised Alli for keeping his cool despite the stamp and some rough treatment from Newcastle.
Pochettino said: “No, I think it’s different. I saw the action. It was not the same as Shelvey. It was different. The ball was there, the ball was on the side, it was completely different and it’s not fair to say that it deserved the same punishment, Harry and Shelvey or Matt Ritchie.
“Dele was calm, it was important because if you remember last season we talked about that, how we need to behave, improve and learn.
“He is so mature now and accepts what can happen on the pitch. He is so calm, is so brave and I think then he scored, a great goal and I’m very happy.
“The last time we played here, to change that memory, to change that emotion was important for us. For me, the most positive thing was to get three points and to start in that way for the season.”
Pochettino also stressed the need for Tottenham to strengthen their squad as they close in on top transfer targets Ajax defender Davinson Sanchez and Celta Vigo's Pape Cheikh Diop.
Pochettino added: “We need to sign some players before the end of the transfer window. It’s important to improve the squad, create competition between us.
“We have ten months ahead, have four competitions, we will need a lot of energy, more competition, more quality and to help the team and keep the level that we want.”