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Steve McClaren ‘You can’t shield players from pressure, it has got to be right in their face’

9 years ago
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Steve McClaren has laid it on the line for his players, saying that they have to deal with the pressure that comes from playing for Newcastle United.

The Head Coach telling his squad that they have ‘got to deal with it, toughen up’ if they are going to make it at St James Park.

It has always been the case that some players thrive on playing in front of 50,000 fans at Newcastle United, whilst others can’t handle the intensity.

Only his first Premier League start but Kevin Mbabu looked to be thriving on the chance to play on such a stage, whilst at the other end of the scale, even after over four years at the club Gabriel Obertan still looks terrified whenever he ends up on the pitch.

McClaren has also repeated the message once again that the tough start to the season isn’t unexpected and claims that after the fighting narrow defeat against Arsenal ‘we were in good spirits’ but then 10 days (defeats to West Ham, Watford and Sheffield Wednesday reserves) later that had ‘all evaporated’.

The Newcastle boss was keen to draw a distinction between the team that played against Chelsea and that which he put out for the League Cup defeat, which still though doesn’t excuse the loss to lower league opposition who made 10 changes themselves.

Let’s hope the feel good factor from the draw with Chelsea doesn’t similarly evaporate…

Steve McClaren talking to the club’s official tv channel:

“I think we would have taken that before the game, on reflection you always know that at 2-0 the next goal…and they were two typical champions goals, out of the blue, fantastic.

“You can’t shield them (the players) from pressure, it is there and it has got to be right in their face. They have got to deal with it, toughen up, and that basically is what the message was.”

10 days it can all evaporate:

“I think it (start of season) has been as normal, after Arsenal we were in good spirits, then going on from that…10 days in football it can all evaporate and it did.

“But people forget, Wednesday’s (v Sheffield Wednesday) team is totally different to this and the team responded and we are getting close to those players can come with us, do this job, provide the consistency that we need.”

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