Of course, by this stage of that campaign, manager Jose Mourinho had already been sacked.
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Down 2-0, Chelsea got one back via a terrific strike from Ramires in the 79th minute.
But Newcastle managing director Lee Charnley, who hired McClaren from Derby during the close-season, backed him in an email to disgruntled fans.
“I told the players at half-time that I have no time to ask them why they were so bad”.
I want to show that I can control my emotion and my aggression and can stay calm in certain situations. “That’s what happens when you lose games you should win“, he said. “Change is painful and hard some people do not like it. Everybody has been clamouring for change and that’s why I’m here”.
The Blues seemed doomed to yet another early season defeat, despite having 85 percent of the possession up until that point, the hosts doubled their lead just when it looked like they would grab an equalizer.
Newcastle United have won their last three Premier League home games against Chelsea.
The most worrying aspect for Jose Mourinho’s side is that in the four previous seasons in which they have managed fewer than 10 points from their opening seven matches, they have never finished higher than sixth. Poor individual performances, too many.
A chorus of boos greeted the Magpies at the final whistle, and McClaren now has to galvanise his side ahead of tomorrow’s English Premier League clash against champions Chelsea.
McClaren is using the experienced coach as his inspiration at Newcastle. This is an attitude of a team that wins nothing.
Riding a three-match winning streak into the North East, though, beating the Blues is much more daunting now than it might have been a matter of weeks ago. But this is their problem.
“It depends on the opposition team and the objective but normally I am not happy with a point”.
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“Some players have been magnificent in games and others aren’t playing up to their level, to their unusual standard, so you are always going to get indifference”, he said. “We’ve talked about that as a club – we will turn it around”. They pegged Newcastle back for a good quarter of an hour, but would concede another goal against the run of play.
