Newcastle boss Steve McClaren needs Wear-Tyne win after slow start

By Peter Smith

Sunday 25 October 2015 10:50, UK

Earlier this season newly-appointed Newcastle boss Steve McClaren asked to be judged after 10 games. Ahead of last Sunday's match with Norwich - the Magpies' ninth Premier League game of the campaign - McClaren back-tracked on those comments. "Judge me at the end of the season," he said.

You couldn't blame him for wanting to adjust his deadline. After all, Newcastle had made a woeful start to the season.

Before last weekend, Newcastle had failed to win any of their Premier League games and taken just three points from their eight fixtures. They were bottom of the league and out of the Capital One Cup, after a shock exit to a much-changed Sheffield Wednesday.

The League Cup defeat took the club "very close" to a crisis, according to McClaren. "Is the job harder than I thought? Absolutely. We deserve to be criticised," he said after the 1-0 loss.

McClaren had arrived at Newcastle with ambitions of cup success and a top-eight finish in the Premier League. He spent nearly £50m on new signings in the summer. Yet his dream job in club management was turning into a nightmare.

However, after a thrilling, frantic 90 minutes against Norwich, there is a fresh complexion at Newcastle. Their remarkable 6-2 win has sparked hope.

Georginio Wijnaldum showed why he is the top-scoring midfielder in Europe's leading leagues since the start of the 2014/15 season with four fine finishes.

Moussa Sissoko opened the opposition up at will, becoming just the second Newcastle player to register three assists in a Premier League fixture.

Ayoze Perez scored one and set up another, while Aleksandar Mitrovic - now with two goals in two games - looked like a proper Newcastle No 9 as he expertly controlled and converted his second half chance.

Newcastle's attacking threats clicked; their new signings showed why they'd been bought. "They were brilliant," Jamie Carragher said on Monday Night Football.

There had been promising signs in Newcastle's last home game, when they seemed set to beat Chelsea until the Blues mustered a late fightback. But few who saw Newcastle's 6-1 demolition at Manchester City before the international break would have expected them to bounce back in such fashion.

Yes, there were still concerns at the back - as well as scoring twice, Norwich hit the woodwork on two occasions and saw a Sebastien Bassong header cleared off the line.

But Sunday's win restored belief among the Newcastle supporters that McClaren and his team have the quality to excite and - more importantly - deliver victories.

"This result will help them a huge amount, as that doubt is gone," said Sky Sports pundit Niall Quinn after the game. "They have shown they are capable of putting a performance like that together, and proved they are a top team going forward when they want to be. Obviously the manager will want them to continue in that form."

Indeed, McClaren is optimistic the result will be a launchpad. "There's a long way to go, a lot of work to do, but today showed the potential and showed the supporters at home that this is what we are capable of doing," he said after the game.

"Football is all about momentum and you can have momentum going the other way - which we have had. We want this one to go forward."

That momentum could come to an abrupt halt should Newcastle lose their next Premier League game. This Sunday they face arch rivals Sunderland - and the Black Cats are on a record five-game winning streak in the Wear-Tyne derby.

Carragher believes Newcastle's defensive frailties, along with Sunderland's home advantage and psychological edge, make the Black Cats slight favourites - despite the Magpies' win over Norwich.

"Newcastle will bounce into the derby full of confidence but they looked like they were going to concede goals [against Norwich]. You'd expect Sunderland to keep it tight, be organised and make it difficult for Newcastle. There will then be opportunities at the other end," he said.

McClaren will hope that isn't the case. Regardless of Sunday's big win over Norwich, the confidence created by that result will soon seep away if Sunderland were to continue their derby dominance.

As the former England boss has suggested, it is perhaps too early to judge him and his team. But he can't escape the fact that the outcome of Newcastle's tenth game of the season could have a more significant bearing on the perception of his work than any other so far.

Watch Sunderland v Newcastle live on Sky Sports 1 HD from 11.30am on Sunday, or watch without a contract on NOW TV