McClaren - It's A "Privilege" For Newcastle Players To Run Out At St James'

By Chris Waugh / August 14, 2015

Steve McClaren believes it should be a "privilege" for Newcastle United's players to strut their stuff in front of more than 50,000 Geordies every other week - and the "expectation and pressure" that brings should "spur" them on. The Magpies drew their opening match of the 2015-16 Barclays Premier League season 2-2 at home to Southampton last weekend and now they travel to the Liberty Stadium on Saturday (3pm kick-off) to face Swansea City in their first away game of the campaign. But McClaren does not believe that playing away is "easier" than taking to the field at St James' Park, instead arguing it is "tougher" for his squad. When asked about whether it was sometimes easier to play away from home during his pre-match press conference on Friday, McClaren responded (NUFCTV, paywall):

"No I don't think so. They (the St James' Park crowd) should only spur you on. "Expectation and pressure for these players (and to play in front of 50,000 people) should be a privilege for them."

Swansea also secured a 2-2 draw in their opening fixture of the season - and their result was perhaps more impressive given that they achieved it against champions Chelsea at Stamford Bridge. Interestingly, McClaren also revealed that he is looking to see the "mentality" of his players as he observes them on opposition soil for the first time in the Premier League. He continued:

"To play away from home, I think it's tougher for them and I think that's what I want to see. "It will be interesting to see the mentality of the players (in terms of) the difficulties of playing away from home in the Premier League - that's one of the things I'll be looking at very closely (at Swansea)."

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