'Insufferable' - Newcastle United reaction to Jordan Pickford's antics in 3-0 Everton win

Sunderland fan Jordan Pickford took centre stage on Thursday night as Newcastle United suffered a 3-0 defeat at Everton.

Goals from Dwight McNeil, Abdoulaye Doucoure and substitute Beto inside the remaining 20 minutes saw the Toffees exit the Premier League relegation zone and inflict a fifth defeat of the campaign on the Magpies - the same number of matches they lost in the entirety of last season.

There is a lot of history between Newcastle fans and former Black Cats goalkeeper Pickford, and he jumped at the opportunity to rile up the travelling Geordies and those on the pitch.

The 29-year-old was spotted gesturing towards Magpies supporters when Everton scored and at full-time was at the centre of a melee between both sets of players.

It all started when Bruno Guimaraes confronted Pickford by pointing his finger at him before pushing the England man. Fabian Schar was among the players who got involved and eventually had to be escorted down the tunnel.

Indeed, Pickford appeared to make fun of the coming together by clenching his fists in front of the home supporters as he headed back to the dressing room.

The video (as below) was quote tweeted by the Newcastle United Blog, who called Pickford "insufferable".

Although hundreds of other Newcastle fans voiced their displeasure at Pickford's behaviour, there were plenty who understood his reaction.

One fan said: "Any #NUFC fan foaming about Jordan Pickford should get over themselves. You give it. You take it. He's taken it. Last night, he gave it"

Another added: "I’ve got no problem whatsoever with Pickford giving it at the end - he takes enough stick from us so you’ve got to accept him giving it back when he’s on the good end".

There will undoubtedly be no love lost when Pickford and Everton visit St James' Park for the return fixture in April. And he'll be watching with a keen eye when Newcastle face Sunderland in the FA Cup third round next month in what is the first Tyne-Wear derby for eight years.