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Newcastle star says these games will decide the season

6 years ago
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Ciaran Clark thinks Newcastle are in a run of games that will decide their season.

Most supporters will have been hoping/expecting to get seven points for the Brighton, Stoke and Swansea matches.

With only a point on Saturday, the pressure is really on today at Stoke to get all three points, before then moving on to Swansea on 13 January.

With Manchester City at the Etihad lying in wait after this trio of matches, the pressure is on.

Ciaran Clark says he was disappointed not to get the win against Brighton but difficult to agree with his assessment of what happened after the break on Saturday.

Clark saying ‘We had them penned back in their half, we were picking up the second balls and it was like attack after attack.’

Newcastle had the odd moment but when a solid defensive team like Brighton show up, there is not a lot of creativity to break them down.

Signings are desperately needed this month but the Stoke game comes before any help could potentially arrive.

Three points today will help make that Premier League table look so much better.

Ciaran Clark:

“We knew coming into these games…Brighton, Stoke and then Swansea, that they were big.

“These are the sorts of games that will ultimately affect where we finish towards the end of the season, so we need to make sure we try to pick up points against the teams in and around us and make sure we’re in front of them.

“It’s very tight, one or two wins and you pull yourself away from it.

“Every game is important and we know that Stoke on Monday is a massive game, they’re under a lot of pressure themselves and they’ll be wanting to pick up points.

“We’re disappointed not to come off the pitch with three points today, but at the end of it it’s a point and a clean sheet, so we’ll move on from that and hopefully use the positives out of it to get the win at Stoke.

“(After the break) We had them penned back in their half, we were picking up the second balls and it was like attack after attack.

“We had a couple of chances but never really found that clear chance to cut them open and finish them off, which is obviously disappointing.

“We knew before the game that Brighton were a dangerous side from set-pieces.

“They’ve got a big team and it’s not just the first ball, it’s the headers coming back in across the box.

We had to be alive for the second balls and Karl had to make some great saves, comfortable ones, but he held on to them well and it relieved a lot of pressure off us.

“It was a good performance in the fact that we kept a clean sheet, but we have to move on now.”

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