Head coach Steve McClaren has said that he would’ve accepted seven from nine in the games against Liverpool, Tottenham Hotspur and Aston Villa and although one of those victories didn’t come in the last match as expected, he’s happy with where the club finds itself going into Christmas.
In quotes carried by the Chronicle from his post Aston Villa press interviews, McClaren knew we should’ve been clear in the first half – especially the chance that fell to Siem de Jong – but with the way the game changed and Villa came more back into it in the second period, he was pretty happy to see the point and the unbeaten run continue.
‘It`s a lot healthier than three games ago. We were just talking before about how strange a league this is and how anybody can beat anybody else. Again, there were some strange results today – the majority were away wins, so I was a little nervous before the game.’
Having said ahead of the match there was no way we could underestimate the visitors, he went on to say.
‘People were talking about, ‘It`s Aston Villa….’ It`s so disrespectful to say, ‘it`s Aston Villa, you should win.’ It`s so disrespectful to opponents, you can`t do that in the Premier League. Have you ever played in the Premier League, watched the Premier League? It`s tough and anybody can beat anybody else, and you have seen that again today. It will happen. They have got talented players.’
With the recent turn in form though, he was confident Newcastle would continue to push up the league in the second half of the season and end on a brighter note than we began 2015-16.
‘I think the season will even itself out towards the end, but I must say from where we were to where we are finishing at Christmas, it`s a lot healthier and the key thing is the attitude of the players. They are staying in the game, they are fighting for 95 minutes, they are finishing games strong – they did last week and won the game there, and nearly did it this week. But we`ll take seven from nine and move on.’
Talking about the game itself in more detail, he added.
‘We started ever so well. It was a fantastic start. I was very pleased and then we got the goal. After the break they grew into the game and I thought it could have been one of those days. Gestede made a difference. He caused us problems when he came on, but after the goal we recovered and I think we finished strongly.’
He also said that ten games ago with how it turned, we would’ve lost the match so he has to be pleased with the improvement on that front – especially the mental strength aspect.
‘Ten games ago we`d have lost that one. We`d have got frustrated and disappointed. But I was impressed with the way the team came back strong. We finished the game strong and could have won it.’
Newcastle also sit in the top six Premier League form chart believe it or not and McClaren knows a more settled team is definitely reaping the rewards.
‘Over the last 10 games we have looked to do that. We have looked to do this system. We have adjusted a couple of times but we are playing as a team now. We are sticking together as a team, maybe we won`t win every game but we`re more competitive than most. The last three games there have been huge steps forward. We wanted a massive one against Villa but it wasn`t to be. Now Everton on Boxing Day which is another tough one.’
Fabricio Coloccini also spoke to the press briefly following the full time whistle, and the 33 year old explained.
‘It`s always nice when you can help the team to take a point. That`s very important because we are still going forward – we didn`t lose the game – and that`s going to be important at the end of the year. It was a bit difficult. There was too much water on the pitch – that`s why we couldn`t play much football, like we normally try to do. But in the end, we got a point. If you look, it`s important. From the last nine points, we have taken seven, so it`s positive.’
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