Steve McClaren is so frustrated with his underachieving Newcastle United players that he has breached the ban on swearing he introduced at St James’ Park in July.
His prohibition of expletive use was broken during what he describes as “feisty” training ground exchanges in the wake of last Saturday’s 3-0 home surrender to Leicester City. Perhaps the only surprise is that a man who acknowledges the job is proving “painful” had resisted resorting to foul language for so long.
“My no-swearing rule went out of the window as a few home truths were voiced,” said McClaren as he prepared for Saturday’s trip to Crystal Palace and a reunion with Newcastle’s former manager Alan Pardew.
McClaren had reverted to calm, measured, good-humoured mode on Friday but the 54-year-old acknowledged that life in charge of a team who have recorded only two Premier League wins all season is not exactly comfortable at present. “Turning this club round is a massive job,” he said. “It’s a slow, long and – at times – painful process that sometimes you have to go through. We look like we’re getting there and then we take two steps back.
“I don’t like watching my teams performing like they did last week. That was painful to watch. But I knew this was a tough job. I knew we’d have bad days. You can’t feel sorry for yourself, you have to get out there on the training field and do something about it.”
McClaren was particularly incensed by a lack of on-field leadership from his captain, Fabricio Coloccini, against Leicester but the Argentinian centre-half will be given one final chance to show why he should retain the armband at Selhurst Park. “I wasn’t happy with anybody’s leadership last Saturday,” said Newcastle’s manager. “But Colo’s reacted very well, he’s been very good this week.”
The response that really matters will come against Palace. “What will we get?” mused McClaren. “That’s the engima and the frustration – and also the beauty – of the Premier League. You don’t know what you’re going to get. But we certainly need a reaction.”
Despite such uncertainty, self-doubt is yet to enter the vocabulary of a man who remains adamant he has “absolutely not” contemplated resigning. “I’ve no doubt whatsoever,” he said. “But getting [the team] better is going to take time. Getting rid of that inconsistency isn’t easy.”
McClaren – who had minimal input on recruitment after succeeding John Carver in the summer – has told Newcastle’s hierarchy it is imperative they scrap their policy of signing only players aged under 26 and recruit some experienced, preferably British, professionals in January.
His problem is that a series of tricky fixtures – Palace is followed by Liverpool at home, then Tottenham Hotspur away and Aston Villa at St James’ Park – must be surmounted before the transfer window opens. If Jack Colback’s likely return to midfield from injury on Saturday aids his cause, the knee surgery that will sideline the left-back Massadio Haïdara for four months is rather less welcome.
Asked if the current squad could cost him his job, McClaren’s reply was telling. “I hope not,” he said. “We’ll work on the training field to make sure that’s not the case. We want to produce a team the fans are proud of.”
