McClaren: Creating conflict was key to Newcastle revival

And finally he feels he might be getting somewhere.

Steve McClaren has admitted he would be quite happy with an uneventful stay in mid-table after a nerve-shredding start to his reign at Newcastle.

McClaren recalls the victory over West Ham in May, which preserved top-flight status, as the evidence it can be done again – and he is determined to make it happen. The most important thing.

“Last season, my first season, was good and gave me a lot of confidence”.

“I always dreamed to play in the Premier League and that made my decision”. That’s Newcastle. There’s the platform we have to reach.

But it was a game-changing moment and a piece of real ability from Jordan Ayew brought them back into it, as he swiveled on the edge of the box before firing in an unstoppable equaliser.

McClaren said: “Footballers are frustrating aren’t they?”

“With the talent and individuals they have got they can be unsafe opponents if everything goes right”. “I have watched Villa and they have very good players”.

“We are thinking of the next game and Aston Villa”. We have got 13 points and we are 6th in the form guide. “At the moment we have been working very hard every week”.

McClaren refuses to underestimate a Villa side who have yet to win under Remi Garde, the former Lyons coach who was heavily touted for the Toon job earlier this year.

“I said on another day we’d take those chances and win the game but if we keep playing that I can’t fault the attitude in what were hard, difficult conditions”.

McClaren’s men, who are 15th in the table and two points above the bottom three, beat Liverpool 2-0 on December 6 before ending Tottenham Hotspur 14-game unbeaten league run thanks to a last-gasp victor from striker Ayoze Perez.

McClaren knows what he will do.

“I have had some talks”, he said. They are all training well and over the last two games, especially last week, the four of them won us the game.

“He caused us problems when he came on but after the goal we recovered and I think we finished strongly”. So that is nice to have.

The nature of the two reverses – with the Magpies conceding eight goals after woeful defensive displays – had led many people to fear the worst for the season.