NEWCASTLE United last night vowed to stamp out misbehaviour by the club's players after midfielder Jamie McClen dragged the Magpies' name through the dirt.

And furious chairman Freddy Shepherd has hit out at rules which restrict the club from fining errant players more than two weeks' wages.

McClen was cautioned by police for being drunk and disorderly on Newcastle's Quayside. The 22-year-old, whose brother Steven was charged with the same offence, was stopped during the early hours of yesterday.

Mr Shepherd's comments come only a week after Craig Bellamy was cautioned by police over an allegation of common assault on a 21-year-old woman outside a nightclub.

Manager Bobby Robson is set to slap a curfew on all his players following the Bellamy incident.

His "extreme displeasure" that Newcastle trio Bellamy, Carl Cort and Wayne Quinn were out drinking in the small hours that night looks certain to result in a ban on players boozing in city nightspots.

Last night, Mr Shepherd said of McClen's caution: "We are extremely disappointed and concerned that another of our players has let the club and his team-mates down by his actions.

"I can only repeat that the club does not and cannot condone actions of anti-social behaviour and as such operates a strict code of conduct, which we expect all our players to conform to.

"Any player found guilty of breaching our code of conduct will be dealt with severely, through internal disciplinary procedures.

"Under present legislation however, players can only receive a maximum two-week salary fine for bringing the club into disrepute and in certain instances we do not feel the two-week fine is a sufficient penalty."

Mr Shepherd added: "Newcastle United has once again found itself in the media spotlight for all the wrong reasons.

"There are more and more young players coming into the game today and with the pressures being heaped upon them and the benefits they receive, the disciplines they're expected to adhere to, in some cases, appear to compound the problem.

"However, this is no excuse for recent bad behaviour by certain of our players.

"Newcastle United will take a firm stand against bad behaviour and shall work with the management, players and their agents with a view to overcoming the problem."

Editor of fanzine The Mag, Mark Jensen, said most fans would urge Robson to go easy on McClen. "If it was the night before the match it might be different, but on this occasion it should be a case of Bobby having a quiet word."

Gabby Logan, presenter of ITV's The Premiership and On The Ball, who was in Durham City yesterday, said the problem of young men misbehaving went beyond the world of football. "It isn't just football - it's society."

A Northumbria Police spokesman confirmed McClen had been arrested near the city's Swing Bridge.