Mark Noble is desperate to ensure there are no slip-ups at Newcastle today and has repeated the manager’s warning that the squad has to treat the Geordies with the sort of respect we would offer a top six side.
Speaking in his Evening Standard column he said: “If we, as players, look at teams in and around us and think it’s a nailed-on three points, without going out and working for it, then we will come unstuck, no danger.
“What we – and everyone else in the Premier League are facing over the next month though – is a demanding schedule of games, seven between now and the end of December.
“We have some players coming back to full fitness, like Andy Carroll and Jack Wilshere, which will help us greatly but we still have too many out with long-term injuries.
“We’re still probably light in certain areas of the team. We’re going to give one hundred per cent in every game we play in this period and that gives us a real good chance but players will get tired over Christmas, especially the older players.
“That’s when the manager has to manage the squad in terms on training. Once the winter bites and you have a lot of games, you never really have much chance to train.”
He added: “We’ve not had a great record at St James’ Park and they’ve had three wins on the bounce, which is a tough thing to achieve.
“We stay positive though. What the manager is trying to do is instill a philosophy and a determination that, whoever we play, we play the same way and try to win the game.
“He is very grounded in his approach, not too high when we win or too low when we don’t.
“It will be the same on Saturday and that is the players’ mind set. I believe that breeds confidence because we know we will go out there and try to win. I like that.”
ClaretandHugh says: “It’s becoming – if it isn’t already – a very familiar mantra notably from the manager; that nothing should be taken for granted and that there are no givens in football against any team. Newcastle hold two wins over us under Rafa Benitez and are on a big recovery from their early season woes. Manual Pellegrini is right to keep preaching the same message and that it should dominate the captain’s weekly column demonstrates that it is getting through. Their can be no serious excuses for failure at St James’ Park later. So long as we show the sort of application we did in all areas of our game against Everton, Man U and Chelsea we can take something from this but everybody needs to turn up and be bang on their game. This can be an intimidating place to visit when the Geordies are on their game so no faint hearts please.
Lose today by playing poorly or by two goals will inevitably revive talk of relegation . To avoid that inevitability we need to start our run of seven games against the lower league placed teams by not losing at St James Park . We are in a very precarious position and nothing except total commitment will do .
COYHAMMERS