But he gave praise to the "work ethic" of Alan Pardew's team, suggesting the Newcastle players wanted the win more than his Villa side.
Alex McLeish: "The opposition have a great work ethic - the whole lot of them - they put the ball in the box and flood it.
"That was the reason for their first goal. I don't think it's rocket science. They get results because of a fantastic team work ethic.
"We could be where Newcastle could be. The difference with us is too many draws. They have turned those into wins.
"There are certain parts of our squad who are still learning and a little bit unused to doing certain jobs that I am now asking them to do.
"I just cite Newcastle as a great example of what I am trying to do with the team.
"It's a kick in the teeth. I thought we were well worth a point, if not all three.
"In the first half we were especially good, we kind of controlled the game, so to go behind was pretty awful to bear.
"Darren Bent had three, four maybe five, and he is the guy we would like to see on the end of those chances, but today (Sunday), Tim Krul was in top form."