Newcastle Is A Club That "Wants To Push Itself" Reveals Ian Cathro

Cathro seems excited by the Magpies' future prospects.

by Chris Waugh
Soon-to-be-confirmed assistant boss Ian Cathro claims that Newcastle United is a club that "genuinely wants to push itself" - and that's exactly why he chose to join Steve McClaren's staff. The 28-year-old has accepted a position as McClaren's assistant head coach at St James' Park, although the club are yet to officially announce his appointment. With Paul Simpson poised to join the Magpies as well having left his position at Derby County, and Steve Black also likely to move back to the Tyneside club, McClaren finally has his backroom staff in place.
But it makes for interesting reading the exact reasons behind why Cathro - one of Europe's most-highly rated coaches - decided to leave Valencia for Newcastle. In an interview with The Sun (paywall), Cathro explained:
"I am looking forward to working at a club which genuinely wants to push itself and grow - to get back to a real level of competition. "Steve (McClaren) has worked abroad himself and he is an incredibly experienced coach and manager - an impressive man generally. I know I will learn a lot from him."
The former Brechin City and Forfar Athletic player has seen a rapid rise in his coaching career, despite still being two years shy of his 30th birthday. After being made Dundee United youth academy director by the age of 2012, Cathro was then appointed assistant boss at Rio Ave - before moving to Valencia, where he left this summer after guiding the Spanish club to an impressive fourth-placed finish in La Liga. Speaking about his aspirations for the future, Cathro added:
"This (joining Newcastle) is something that can only prepare me even better for when the time comes (to be a manager in his own right). "I am incredibly excited by it and I just want to help out in any way I can. I wanted the challenge of working in a different league and English football is very different from Spanish football."
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Contributor

NUFC editor for WhatCulture.com/NUFC. History graduate (University of Edinburgh) and NCTJ-trained journalist. I love sports, hopelessly following Newcastle United and Newcastle Falcons. My pastimes include watching and attending sports matches religiously, reading spy books and sampling ales.