The south London side thrashed Newcastle on Saturday, with the 5-1 win seeing the Eagles rise to seventh in the Barclays Premier League table.
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Newcastle picked up their first away win of the season at Bournemouth three weeks ago, but any optimism built up by that result was shattered last weekend as the Magpies slipped to a dismal 3-0 defeat at home to Leicester. Arguably it was a scuffed shot that just hit lucky but it was lovely to watch and ensured that we ended the first half 3-1 to the good. “From my first experience at Middlesbrough where we lost the first four games, we were pointless and clueless as we were called then and it took a good six, seven months to get through that”.
“And character, mental determination and fight – that’s what you learn through adversity”. A darting run from Daryl Janmaat seem to surprise the Eagles defence, who stood off the Dutch full back, and allowed him to cross to a marginally onside Papiss Cisse, who calmly headed into Hennessey’s net, albeit with aid of the post.
“They vented their frustration and disappointment and anger and rightly so”. If they drag their feet on this one like they did with Carver, we’re in big, big trouble.
“Yeah it does, it makes it harder”, said McClaren, when quizzed on whether another heavy loss leads him to question his faith in the ability to generate a reaction from his players.
The ex-Middlesbrough boss insists he was right to lose his temper and that his squad took his words on board, even in the wake of leaking five goals on the road. “All of us are determined to put things right”. “The focus was there from the start of the game, the intent”.
“It’s definitely not ability, it’s about doing the basics”. While everyone else around you is losing their heads you’ve got to keep yours.
Neither Newcastle nor Palace seized the chance to snaffle Austin in the summer, and so the man who claimed 18 Premier League goals in a relegation season stayed put at Loftus Road.
“The players have to learn quickly”, said the 54-year-old.
“There’s no extra satisfaction (in beating Newcastle)”, he said.
McClaren speaks of pride, work rate and a willingness to go to war for the man sat next to you in the dressing room and he freely admits these are traits that Newcastle do not have.
“Whatever I say about that club it gets contrived. I have a lot of friends and family at Newcastle, but I don’t want to say a lot about them because I get criticised whatever I say”. Against Sunderland, we played a good game until the red card.
Diversifying as I sometimes do, back to the Palace experience, I encountered two sides to the football scene, going and returning from the game.
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“Today more than made up for Monday, but the game is gone today and we have to look forward to Everton”.
