The Toon fans who travelled to Swansea City last week for the 2-0 loss did not turn on the team, although some did give McClaren stick on the final whistle.
McClaren told the Chronicle: “I think that is so, so important and credit to them for that.
“It was a difficult game. Once we had 10 men it was a very difficult game to manage.
“I think at 1-0 we kept the striker on and thought we might hold it if we were strong defensively.
“We felt we were able to maybe get something and stay in the game.
“Unfortunately they scored the second early.
“I don’t quite know this team well enough yet. But our fans were fantastic.
“I was just gutted because it was a day when I didn’t learn a lot, and they probably didn’t either.”