Successful start built on Magpies team spirit (From The Northern Echo)

Successful start built on Magpies team spirit

11:01am Wednesday 25th November 2009

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)

STEVEN TAYLOR is loving life at Newcastle United at the moment, and the influential centre-half claims the strength of dressing-room spirit is the biggest factor behind the club’s rise to the top of the Championship.

He might have been sporting a cut lip after a first-half clash with Preston striker Chris Brown, but Taylor was also wearing a huge smile as he left Deepdale following Newcastle’s 1-0 victory on Monday night.

The defender’s satisfaction was mirrored by the rest of the Magpies squad, and after a period where dressing-room disharmony appeared to help propel the club on a downward spiral, a new sense of camaraderie has evolved to aid this season’s promotion push.

“It’s just a totally different mood about the place and I’m loving it,” revealed Taylor.

“We’re going into training now and having a right good laugh.

“We know when we have to be serious, but we also know that it’s good to have a laugh and a joke as a group of lads.

The banter is absolutely fantastic on the training ground, and it hasn’t always been like that in the time I’ve been at Newcastle.

“We’re all mingling in together as a group, and we know how to take each other, whereas a few years ago you might have got some people forming their own little groups. There’s none of that now – everyone’s together and everyone gets involved.

“I just wish the public could see what we we’re like on the inside of the dressing room now because I think it’s something to be proud of. We’re loving it, and it’s a real honour for me to be playing with this group of lads. I feel really lucky.”

While success in the Premier League demands style and skill, prospering in the Championship is often more about character and commitment.

It is easier to display those attributes if you are part of a strong team group, and results like Monday’s win would be much less likely if Newcastle’s players had not bonded so successfully this season.

The Magpies have won six matches by a one-goal margin, a statistic that suggests they possess the spirit and steel required to grind out a winning result from a tight encounter.

“We’re a different side this year – we’re more together,”

said Taylor. “I think that shows, and we have to stick together in this league because it’s tough. Teams are going to keep coming and throwing everything at us, but I think we’ve shown we can handle that.

“We can pass the ball, but we can also do the dirty side of things as well. We look after ourselves on the pitch. If something goes wrong with one player, the rest of the players get around to help them out.

“If a tackle goes in and few players react, we’ll get ourselves round and stick together.

As team-mates, we know we’re going to back each other up. Last season, I’m not sure that we had that as much. But I think now, with this squad, there’s a real sense of spirit.”

Hughton is confident that Andy Carroll will be available for Saturday’s visit of Swansea.

Carroll did not train yesterday nor will he train today having had to be withdrawn at Preston through illness.

But Hughton, who thinks Danny Simpson will have recovered from a thigh problem by the weekend, said: “Ryan Taylor has done his shin, even though I said it was his calf, in the warm up. Andy has sickness and he is still very ill.’’

• Print
• Email
• Share
• Comments(0)