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Steve McClaren blames away form on playing too much ‘on the front foot’

8 years ago
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On the eve of the Chelsea away match, Steve McClaren has blamed this season’s lack of away points on his team playing too much ‘on the front foot’ when on the road.

The United boss says that playing ‘on the front foot’ is ‘good when you are at home’ but that it has left his team ‘exposed’ and that is why the players ‘haven’t ground out enough results’.

This is the absolute opposite to the perspective of most fans, who see the tactics employed at away matches as far too negative, putting Newcastle on the back rather than front foot.

With only six goals scored in 13 away games, it is difficult to comprehend how Steve McClaren can back his comments up.

Supporters have seen away game after away game of Newcastle trying to do exactly what Steve McClaren claims they should have been doing – trying to ‘ground out results’ – but with dismal results.

The negative tactics which McClaren has used, have seen only six goals scored but 27 conceded, in all competitions.

Elsewhere today, the Head Coach talked of going to Stamford Bridge with ‘no fear and having a go’, which is hard to reconcile with the idea of the team supposedly having failed due to too much attacking intent ‘on the front foot’.

Steve McClaren talking to the official club website:

“It is a problem (picking up points away from home) we have had all season, it is down to the way we play, we tend to play on the front foot.

“Which is good when you are at home, but away we have been exposed, and haven’t ground out enough results.

“If two or three of our away games had been draws then we would have ground out a few more points and we would be in a slightly better situation.

“It is something we need to address because we can’t afford to rely on our home form because then the pressure on those games will just become too much.

“In our home games we are starting to get a consistency in our performance and the way we play.

“We need to start transferring that to our away games and picking up points away from home, we owe it to the fans.”

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