Following Newcastle’s shock 2-0 victory over Jürgen Klopp’s Liverpool side today, Steve McClaren has confessed the Magpies were on the brink of a crisis.
Reports emerged last week claiming that two members of McClaren’s backroom staff (Steve Black and Alessandro Schoenmaker) were involved in a training ground bust-up, succeeding news that McClaren had sparked a training ground row with the players.
From the outside, it looked like a very bleak time for Newcastle and McClaren’s future was thrown into fresh doubt – with speculation surrounding his future intensifying daily.
In response to the reports that surfaced last week, McClaren admitted it was best for him and his players to remain quiet and respond on the pitch.
“This [win vs Liverpool] is absolutely huge, absolutely massive,” McClaren said [quoted by Daily Mail].
Once or twice we’ve taken ourselves to the brink of crisis and clawed our way back and that’s what we’ve done today.
“It’s been a tough two weeks. The team has taken a lot of criticism, along with everyone else, and rightly so. We’ve not qualms about that. We’ve had to stay quiet and the only response you can give is on the field.
“It showed what we are capable of doing. We hope that’s the light-bulb moment that turns things around.”
Despite the positive result, McClaren admitted that he is wary that a heavy loss would again put the spotlight back on him and his position at St James’ Park, as Newcastle are currently trapped in the relegation zone.
“We’ve had false starts two or three times now,” he added.
“It’s been really frustrating because four weeks ago we thought we’d turned a bit of a corner. But we went from a certain level of performance to an unacceptable level of performance.
“Part of a coach’s dilemma is working with players, and these are young players. They have to come through that, and then next time they go through it again, they’ll know how to put it right. We hope they’re learning.
“But this team has got talent and ability and we also saw belief and confidence here, that’s been missing in recent weeks.”
Next up for Newcastle is a tough test at White Hart Lane. Could we see McClaren record back-to-back wins for the first time as Newcastle boss?
