After McClaren’s appointment, Newcastle fans eagerly awaited the announcement of his backroom staff. It was out with the old and in with the news, as John Carver and Steve Stone had been axed, and there was a real change in the mindset of the Geordie national.
After weeks of anticipating the new staff, McClaren’s new team were announced. Promising young coach Ian Cathro stole most of the limelight, having been appointed as one of McClaren’s assistant. Paul Simpson would follow McClaren from Derby and was announced as his second assistant. Alessandro Schoenmaker also stayed loyal to McClaren and joined up with the team as a physio/fitness coach.
Last but certainly not least, Steve Black. Perhaps the most impressive appointment of them all. Black is rated very highly by many in the world of sport. He was given the role of a ‘consultant’ – a role in which he will aim to motivate the players; give feedback to McClaren; improve teamwork and aim to get each player up to their maximum potential. I think that with all the experience that Black brings to the club, he is an integral cog in the Newcastle machine, as the new era is upon us.
Steve Black is also a very intellectual person and often presents key note speeches, seminars and management conferences all over the world. Currently a ‘Professor of Practice’ at Newcastle University Business School, Steve is rated very highly by all students at the Uni and was once acknowledged as ‘the best conditioning coach in the world’ by The Times.
He has had an illustrious career in both football and rugby so far. This is not the first time he has been involved with the Newcastle United coaching staff, as he was a coach there from 1991-1996. He was also a coach at Sunderland, Fulham, Norwich and most recently, a performance consultant for QPR and performance director/consultant at Huddersfield. He had a brief spell as Sunderland assistant manager in 2006. His career in rugby was also very respective – he was a coach at Newcastle Falcons, Wales and the British & Irish Lions.
When asked about his role as consultant for Huddersfield back in 2008, Black said: “My job is to get the players, and the staff as well, ready to perform to the best level they can. “
“Day by day in training we will set good standards. There will be a good tempo in training. It will be tough but enjoyable, and the players will get ready to give everything on a Saturday.”
“It’s about exciting the crowd by playing good football when we have the ball, and when we don’t have the ball, it’s about working our socks off to get it back”.
“We need to show unbelievable ambition when we’ve got the ball, and great spirit when defending”.
“When everyone works collectively, you have a very formidable team, one that’s very hard to beat”.
“There will be setbacks along the way, but it’s important not to overreact to either victory or defeats. Be passionate, but be professional as well.”
Looking at these quotes, we should feel very optimistic that with a couple more signings, our team will certainly put in more work that last year, and hopefully, get better results.
With the majority of Newcastle players looking careless and passionless last season, it is safe to say Black is a very welcome addition to the coaching staff at St James’ Park. Hopefully he can help motivate and encourage the squad to perform for longer than 20 minutes per week.
A lot of successful names in the world of sport have praised him highly. One notable fan of Black is Johnny Wilkinson, who lays much of the credit for his unparalelled success at Steve Black’s door, calling him a “second father”.
Graham Henry, the All Blacks manager, described him as “the best motivator” he’s ever encountered, while Kevin Keegan says that he is “the best one-to-one coach in the world.”
I feel as if he has been overlooked by many Newcastle and even though the rest of the coaching staff is very promising. The capture of an experienced and highly rated coach/consultant like Steve Black is very encouraging for the future of the club, and where we go from now.
