JONAS GUTIERREZ LOOKING AHEAD

Newcastle's Jonas Gutierrez has already put the disappointment of a missed opportunity behind him as he plots victory over West Brom.

Buy Newcastle Match Tickets Now

The Magpies will attempt to reach the 30-point target manager Alan Pardew has set them for Christmas when the Baggies arrive on Tyneside on Wednesday evening.

They would have been significantly closer to that landmark in their season had they made the most of the chances they created against Swansea, when all the pressure ultimately counted for little as they were held to a 0-0 draw at St James' Park.

Gutierrez, who came within inches of what would have been a winner shortly before the break, said: "We created a lot of chances. We kept the ball and had possession, but that's football.

"Sometimes you create one chance and you score and you win, and sometimes like today, you create many chances and you draw. That's football and we have to focus on the next game.

"We tried to keep the ball, have possession and press high. We did it for 60, 65 minutes of the game, but couldn't score.

"That gave Swansea confidence and in the last 15 minutes, it was another game. Anything could have happened and anyone could have scored."

Newcastle set about the task of addressing their four-game winless Barclays Premier League run - three of those games had been against Manchester City, Manchester United and Chelsea - with some relish and on another day, could have been home and dry before half-time.

They were denied twice in quick succession by the woodwork, returning skipper Fabricio Coloccini heading against one post with 19 minutes gone and Demba Ba striking the other four minutes later with keeper Michel Vorm beaten on both occasions.

However, the Dutchman pulled off a fine reaction save three minutes before the break to keep out Ba's fiercely-struck volley, although he was relieved to see Gutierrez's piledriver fade just wide of the top corner with seconds of the half left to play.

But if Swansea had ridden their luck during the opening 45 minutes, their defending, while equally concerted, was much more controlled in the second half and while the Magpies continued to attack in waves, they were unable to summon up the required quality to make the breakthrough.

Indeed, had Scott Sinclair not scuffed a 74th-minute effort wide of the far post, the visitors might have left with an unlikely victory, although that would have been harsh on Pardew's men.

For all he was disappointed to see two points slip away, the Newcastle boss could not fault the efforts of his players, although he was less than impressed with referee Lee Mason's decision to hand midfielder Yohan Cabaye a fifth booking of the season, which will sideline him on Wednesday, after previously adopting a lenient approach.

He said: "We are in good fettle for the next game, and that's what you have got to be.

"We haven't been beaten, we have got a clean sheet, played reasonably well. We are disappointed we haven't won, disappointed to lose Yohan to that booking.

"We are frustrated, but hopefully we are armed by that on Wednesday night and we win."

Pardew was able to name influential midfielder Cheick Tiote in his starting line-up for the first time in almost two months after his recovery from a knee injury, and to the surprise of some, included Leon Best rather than Hatem Ben Arfa, who remained unused on the bench.

He said: "Hatem will be frustrated that he didn't get a piece, but maybe that will fuel him for Wednesday night."

Swansea manager Brendan Rodgers was delighted with the way his players responded to his half-time entreaties, and the strides they have made since they lost at Newcastle in the Championship two seasons ago.

He said: "A lot of these players came here two years ago and lost heavily 3-0, but today they were psychologically very much ready for the game.

"In the first half, we defended well, but we got too excited with the ball, and it was just a case of trying to retain that calmness and composure and balance of the game in our positioning, and that was very evident in the second half."

It was a day of high emotion on Tyneside as the Magpies paid tribute to former midfielder Gary Speed with his family present.

Close friend and assistant Newcastle boss John Carver said: "It was exceptionally hard, but the fans were brilliant and I know for a fact his dad really appreciated it."