Steve McClaren is under increased pressure at Newcastle after a 5-1 defeat at Crystal Palace that leaves his team one place off the foot of the Premier League table. Newcastle’s players will report to their Darsley Park training ground for an extra session on Sunday after a display that left McClaren “hugely disappointed”, and the manager said their disastrous first third of the season can only be reversed by instilling character into a side for whom capitulations have become a worrying norm.
“We hadn’t planned it, we’re doing it specially,” McClaren said of Sunday’s training session, a full week before their next game, at home to Liverpool. “It’s not right. The fans travel a long way and we need to sort it out. You can only do that on the training field and within the group. We’ve got to come through together. This is what we have and we’ll all stick together.
“I’m hugely disappointed, very hurt. That’s not our standard, not what I want to see from any of my football teams. Newcastle don’t expect that and the players know that as well. The only way to do it is to get back to work tomorrow and make sure we prepare for Liverpool, do the right things and get stronger, more determined, get some character through adversity.”
Newcastle’s fans voiced their displeasure during and after a match that followed the 3-0 home defeat to Leicester. McClaren’s team also have a 6-1 defeat at Manchester City to their name this season and he accepts that tolerance is wearing thin after a litany of disappointments.
“No, absolutely not,” he said when asked whether he expected a patient response to his team’s form. “It’s football, it’s the Premier League, and there is no patience possible. The key people who have to be patient are the people like us who are working with the players. We’ve got to know where we’re going, and to know that it’s not a magic wand to instantly change this group of players. This is not good enough, we know it, and we’ve got to go back and solve it.”
In December, Newcastle face Tottenham and Everton. Aston Villa, five points adrift at the bottom, arrive at St James’ Park on 19 December and the visit of Rémi Garde’s side could be decisive in determining McClaren’s future if it remains in the balance.
