Steve McClaren says Aleksandar Mitrovic must be smart if continuing aggressive style
Friday 23 October 2015 11:51, UK
Newcastle boss Steve McClaren has told striker Aleksandar Mitrovic to keep playing 'close to the edge' in his first Wear-Tyne derby on Sunday.
Mitrovic has started to settle in to life in the Premier League, scoring goals in his last two games for Newcastle after having trouble with discipline in his first handful of matches following his £13m summer move from Anderlecht.
The 21-year-old was booked in his first two games, the yellow card against Southampton on the opening day coming a handful of seconds after he came off the bench, and he saw red against Arsenal.
But Mitrovic has recently started to show why Newcastle spent big money to bring him to England, and McClaren is happy for him to continue his aggressive style of play against Sunderland, as long as he is 'smart' and controlled in doing so.
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McClaren said: "There is always a fine dividing line, always fine. He has played smart. I would say he has been playing smart, and that is what we have been telling him, be smart. That's what he has done.
"Smart and effective. You can play smart and be ineffective, but play on the line and play smart.
"He got sent off against Arsenal and could have been against Southampton, and they were not derbies, but that was a willingness to win and playing on the edge, on that line.
"That's what you have got to do in every game, not just say, 'Oh, we will choose a derby game and do it now'. We need that every game.
"He has shown a level of maturity in the last three games. But again, we are not getting carried away and saying, 'Woah!'.
"We knew there was a bit of the devil [in him], to be perfectly honest, and that has added to our game. We need that, but we need control and that is the key on Sunday."
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