Steve McClaren heaps praise on Newcastle goalkeeper Rob Elliot after Bournemouth win
Saturday 7 November 2015 18:12, UK
Steve McClaren heaped praise on Rob Elliot after the Newcastle goalkeeper's inspired display in a 1-0 victory over Bournemouth.
Newcastle boss McClaren vowed to wrap Elliot in "cotton wool" as the 29-year-old continues to battle thigh trouble after playing through the pain in the win at the Vitality Stadium, which saw Ayoze Perez hit the winner.
Ireland face Bosnia and Herzegovina in the two-legged Euro 2016 play-off in the next fortnight, but McClaren wants Elliot to focus on full fitness rather than international duty.
Manager Martin O'Neill has David Forde, Kieren Westwood and Darren Randolph as his other goalkeeping options for Ireland's Bosnia double-header.
"You'll see him walking around with cotton wool wrapped around him for the next two weeks," said McClaren, who is still missing injured goalkeepers Tim Krul and Karl Darlow in his squad. "So that's what we'll have to do.
"Rob's been heroic to get us through the last two games in what two weeks ago was a big crisis. I said at half-time character will win us this game, and character did. Tremendous."
Elliot pulled off a string of fine saves as McClaren's men sneaked out of Bournemouth with a hugely fortunate win.
Perez's winning strike was Newcastle's only shot on target, with Elliot excelling despite his continued injury woes.
Ireland will travel to Bosnia for the first leg on Friday, November 13, before hosting the return clash at Dublin's Aviva Stadium three days later.
But McClaren stressed Elliot's continued importance to Newcastle as his other senior goalkeepers continue to battle their own injury issues.
"People talk about goalkeepers getting you points, and if you're a top goalkeeper you get 15 to 20 points from performances like that," said McClaren.
"We were debating what to do but he was so positive from Monday that we gave him every chance. Sometimes you think 'wow, how did we win that'.
"We got it through character, endeavour, organisation, perseverance. Once after an hour we were never going to score the second goal and were never going to keep the ball long enough we just more or less shored up and defended for our lives."
