Newcastle players caught out by traffic at West Ham

LONDON (Reuters) - 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.

(Reuters)

"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.

(Reporting by Martyn Herman, editing by Alan Baldwin)