Relegation-threatened Newcastle travel to The Emirates Stadium to face table-toppers Arsenal this Saturday, and, ahead of the tie, Gunners’ manager Arsene Wenger has urged the Magpies’ board to stand by under-fire head coach Steve McClaren.
Back-to-back defeats to Everton and West Brom mean that Newcastle will travel to North London sitting in the relegation zone after four wins from their opening 19 Premier League games, and many United fans have began to question McClaren’s managerial credentials just six-months into his underwhelming reign as Toon boss.
However, the vastly-experienced Wenger, who has weathered a number of crises during his 19-year stay in England, insists that it’s far too early for the Tynesiders to think about pulling the plug on the former England manager.
Speaking to The Express, Wenger said:
“He has only just joined the club. Newcastle is a very exciting project because it’s a very big club and it’s a fantastic and exciting job for a manager like Steve McClaren, but it is a long-term job.
This club has a huge potential and in six months it’s impossible to transform a club of that stature into a club competing for the Premier League. Give him time. I know that patience is not the first quality in our society but, unfortunately to be successful, you need it.
Despite their lowly league position, Wenger believes that, away from St James’ Park, Newcastle’s counter-attacking style of play makes them a dangerous side to come up against:
If you look at their squad, they have good players in all areas so they are a dangerous team to play at home.”
