10 Players Ian Cathro Could Bring With Him To Newcastle

Contacts are a very important thing in football...

By Ross Tweddell /

It has taken three weeks but Steve McClaren finally has an assistant manager as Scot Ian Cathro has been appointed. The former Valencia assistant manager (pictured second from the left) wasn't attached to a club after he stepped down from his position at the Mestalla Stadium last month. The 28-year-old's arrival at the club will be a huge relief to the new head coach after no less than three targets turned him down. Phil Neville, Bolo Zenden and Sam Allardyce's old assistant at St James' Park Steve Round all rejected the former England boss' advances. Cathro is well travelled and should provide McClaren with a voice to bounce ideas and strategies off going forward. After a four-year stint as a coach at Dundee United, the former Forfar player headed over to Portugal and Rio Ave. When Rio's manager Nuno was plucked by Valencia, the Portuguese gaffer took Castro with him and the pair led Los Che to a fourth placed finish and Champions League football, despite the club's well documented financial problems. One of Cathro's main strengths is his ability to work with young players, which will be music to the ears of The Magpies' owner Mike Ashley. A number of young players, a couple of which make this list, have flourished and are well on the way to decent careers in the game thanks to the work they did with the up-and-coming coach. Here's 10 players that Cathro could realistically help to bring to Newcastle...