10 Issues McClaren STILL Needs To Resolve At Newcastle Before The Season Kicks Off
The NUFC head coach has plenty of work to do...
Pre-season has finished and the 2015-16 Premier League campaign is almost upon us. Newcastle United completed their preparations with yet another defeat, this time 1-0 to Borussia Mönchengladbach in their only warm-up fixture at St James Park, and the match left fans with more questions than answers about where the Magpies are at in their development right now. Steve McClaren has been at the St James' Park helm for close to two months, and he has already changed a lot in a short space of time. Newcastle are noticeably different to how they were under both Alan Pardew and John Carver. The Magpies are actively looking to pass the ball out from defence, their centre-backs are splitting to receive the ball from the goalkeeper and the full-backs are bombing forward to join the attack. Newcastle's style is fresh and it is new - but it is not quite finished yet. There remains a lot of fine-tuning to do on Tyneside still. All of the Magpies pre-season fixtures are gone now and yet McClaren is still searching for a defensive formula that works. Even the home debuts of Aleksandar Mitrovic, Chancel Mbemba and Georginio Wijnaldum could not lighten the spirits of a poor Newcastle display against Borussia Mönchengladbach on Saturday. So, despite all the progress that has already been made, which issues does McClaren still need to resolve at Newcastle United BEFORE the Magpies host Southampton in their opening Premier League match on Sunday? Here's 10...