Newcastle players caught out by traffic at West Ham

London: Newcastle United`s players had to trudge the last mile to West Ham United`s stadium after their team coach became stuck in London`s rush-hour traffic before Monday`s Premier League fixture.

"The road was gridlocked and the police did very well to get us here. It`s a shorter preparation but we just need to deal with it," Newcastle manager Steve McClaren was quoted by the BBC as saying prior to kickoff at Upton Park.

Newcastle`s players and coaching staff eventually arrived at the stadium less than an hour before kickoff.

The rush did little for Newcastle`s defending and they conceded a goal less than 10 minutes into the game when Dimitri Payet found the top corner for the Hammers.