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First Team Coach ‘We knew the Newcastle players were capable of this…’

8 years ago
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Paul Simpson says that the Newcastle players have had a ‘heck of a long time to sit and fester’ after the dramatic collapse at the Etihad.

The international break meaning it will be a 15 day gap before they face Norwich on Sunday.

United’s first team coach thinks though that the players showed a level of performance in that first half, as they did against Chelsea, which the coaching staff knew they were capable of.

However, the next step is trying to get them to be capable of doing it for a full match.

Simpson thinks the players did everything right in the first 43 minutes against Manchester City.

The team defending right from the front, pressing in midfield and tight at the back.

Obviously the hope is that the team can sustain themselves for longer against what looks weaker opposition in the coming games.

However, it is an ongoing worry that in none of the matches so far, have Newcastle finished the stronger team. The only possible exception is possibly Watford but then the understandably sat back in the final stages with a lead to protect.

Right from the first game against Southampton, the opposition have looked fitter/stronger as the game went on, on the opening day there were claims that the trip to America may have played a part in the lack of stamina but now two months into the season it will be a major worry if Norwich and Sunderland are the ones outrunning Newcastle in the final stages.

Paul Simpson speaking to the club’s official tv channel:

“It is a heck of a long time to sit and fester after that second half performance.

“I think though the positives we will take out of the (Manchester) City and Chelsea games, is that the players produced a level of performance that we knew they were capable of, we hoped they were going to produce…and they did it for 45 minutes. The big thing we have to do is produce it for 90.

“The football we played, the way we defended – starting at the front, the way we pressed in midfield, the defensive backline of back four and goalkeeper…they were excellent and for 43 minutes we have done it very very well.

“We have to understand the collapse at Manchester City is not acceptable, it is not Premier League standard.

“They (the fans) all went in at half-time in a positive frame of mind and we ripped the guts out of ourselves with the way we were in the second half.”

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