Five Bold January signings to keep Newcastle in the Premier League
“I think the players know that and I think the new ones that came in during the summer are adapting to that”. But when players like Georginio Wijnaldum, Moussa Sissoko and Daryl Janmaat are at the top of their game like they were on Sunday, Newcastle are a hard team to play.
There is room for optimism, however, after an wonderful result and performance against Liverpool last weekend and will see Spurs as another potential scalp as they look to improve over the busy Christmas period.
“I hear a lot “because Pochettino has at Tottenham a very young squad it is easy for them to play the way they play because they spend a lot of energy”, Pochettino said.
He denied it was a case of foreign imports not understanding what the club meant to its fans and the wider city.
“To be fair, I think we’ve shown that on a couple of other occasions this season as well”.
McClaren knows all about how European football can impact upon domestic form from his days at Manchester United, where he was instrumental in their Treble-winning season, and Middlesbrough, who he guided to the UEFA Cup final in 2006, although he is not convinced Spurs will be blunted by their midweek exertions. The 23-year-old winger expertly placed all three of his goals against Monaco in the Europa League on Thursday night at the Lane.
“It’s not rocket science”.
‘The crowd were magnificent, they egged the players on, the players were full of fight and endeavour and work and that little bit of football that got the win.
“We need to show respect for the opposition and the competition and we are very ambitious”.
This problem has been exacerbated by Newcastle’s policy of not signing anyone aged over 26. Head coach Steve McClaren will have a decision to make about whether or not he starts Papiss Cisse up front or if he returns to either Ayoze Perez or Aleksandar Mitrovic.
On the one hand, McClaren’s not exactly incorrect. However, their relentless attacking down the right-hand side could leave them vulnerable to Spurs’ tactical strategy – and Mauricio Pochettino’s team are significantly more organised than Klopp’s Liverpool were last week.
“The so-called arguments have not really been arguments, they’ve just been people being more honest and open because they care”.