10 Newcastle Players Who Could Be Revitalised By Steve McClaren

8. Mike Williamson

John Carver took the unprecedented move of accusing Mike Williamson of getting himself "deliberately" sent off for Newcastle United at the King Power Stadium last season - stating that maybe the centre-back thought it was an "easy way out". Whether or not Carver's words were justified is perhaps beyond the point, because the fact of the matter is that Williamson has become the source of supporters' frustrations for longer than many of them would care to remember. Despite enjoying something of a renaissance 18 months ago, Williamson slid back into his old habits last season and - if anything - became even worse than he had been before. The centre-back's custom trait of launching the ball aimlessly forward will not be tolerated by assistant coach Ian Cathro, who values technical play above all else, and he will need to go some in order to force his way into McClaren's first team. Not only has Jamaal Lascelles arrived to compete with Williamson, Steven Taylor, Fabricio Coloccini and even Paul Dummett for a centre-defensive berth, but Joel Matip or another centre-back could soon be brought in as well. Williamson must not be overawed by the competition for places, he must instead use it as motivation. If he fails to do so, then his Newcastle United career is over - so Williamson must hope McClaren can bring the best out of him.