Newcastle United boss Steve McClaren reveals that he thought about making a number changes to his side ahead of the 2-0 win over Liverpool on Sunday.
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The duo had not played out a 0-0 draw since 1974, yet one would be forgiven for thinking that could have been the scoreline after a drab first half, with neither side managing a shot on target.
Jurgen Klopp’s charges had a great chance to open the scoring in the 22nd minute.
Dutchman Georginio Wijnaldum, signed from PSV Eindhoven in the close-season, forced Martin Skrtel into an own goal in the 69th minute and then added a second himself in added time. You’ve got to work really hard and crawl back into the dressing room and that’s what they’ve done, every time we’ve won and got a result – that’s what they’ve done.
Despite the win, Steve Mclaren’s men remain in the relegation zone, moving up one spot to 18th place, while Liverpool – on a four match win-streak – stay seventh. Moussa Sissoko broke on a counter attack and sent a cross-field pass to Wijnaldum who chipped Simon Mignolet to complete the win.
The Magpies ran out knowing they would have to improve dramatically upon woeful performances in defeat by Leicester and Crystal Palace in their last two games, and they did just that as they served up a committed and resilient display against a side which blasted six past Southampton in midweek.
McClaren said: “It was a deserved win”. We said before the game the hardest-working players in that system that we play are Wijnaldum and [Moussa] Sissoko.
“To be prepared for a game you have to know as much about the actual situation because everything can be motivation”. Being competitive. We gave everyone the chance to put it right.
“I couldn’t see that we should have won three points because we were not good enough, we didn’t do what we could do. The December period, there are a lot of games coming up, so we’ve all got to be fit and raring to go and keep the confidence going into those games to try and get as many as we can”.
“I knew a little bit about their problems in the past year but for me in this moment it is not important”.
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“We have been looking at various things”.
