Newcastle head coach Steve McClaren is hoping to see progress when his United side travel to White Hart Lane to face Spurs this Sunday.
The Magpies spectacularly bounced back from a series of heavy defeats to earn a monumental 2-0 victory over Liverpool last weekend, and McClaren hopes that his mercurial team can replicate their performance against a resolute Spurs side that haven’t lost a game since the opening day of the season.
Speaking to Newcastle’s official club website, McClaren said:
“We need to follow (Liverpool) up at White Hart Lane.
“We need to put in a performance if we are to get anything. We have been reiterating what we did against Liverpool and what we need to do to give a good performance against Spurs.
“We had a terrible run of two games, so its important we get back to where we were at before the international break. The players were on form and the crowd were on form (against Liverpool) – we need to follow that up at Spurs.
“One of the key ingredients is that you have to out-run your opponent and put the effort in. It’s no coincidence that when you do that, the crowd get behind you and you get results.”
Newcastle have shown that they can mix it with the big boys this season by putting in admirable displays against Manchester United, Arsenal, Chelsea and Liverpool. However, this has left fans baffled at the team’s inability to sustain their performance levels against lesser opposition week in, week out.
McClaren understands fans’ frustration towards the team’s inconsistencies, and the 53-year-old admits that even he struggles to put his finger on the reasons behind it:
“One of the unanswered questions in sport is why players can’t replicate their performance week after week.
“That’s what makes football so frustrating for the managers, coaches and especially the fans. It’s about finding that consistency week in, week out, and that’s what we’re looking to get now.”
