7 Decisions McClaren Needs To Make Ahead Of Swansea Clash

7. Keep the Chancel-Colo Combo?

Considering that Chancel Mbemba had only been with the squad for a couple of weeks and that captain Fabricio Coloccini did not appear at all in pre-season, it was a bold call from Steve McClaren to stick the untried partnership together. In recent weeks, Mike Williamson, for all his flaws, and Jamaal Lascelles had racked up a number of appearances and would have been more ready to go from a fitness standpoint. Coloccini has just signed a new deal with the club but after a poor 2014-15 season and no match practice, the Argentine did not look settled and it will be interesting to see in the forthcoming weeks whether this is just rustiness or a sign of things to come for the 33-year-old. Could you argue that NUFC should have started someone who had actually bothered to make an appearance in preseason?... Mbemba was beaten all ends up in the air for Graziano Pelle's header to open the scoring but recovered as the game went on and looks like a very useful addition in the middle of a defence that has been sub-par for too long. Extremely composed on the ball, the Democratic Republic of Congo international has the physical attributes to match up well with most forwards in the league with a mix of pace, power and a good spring making up for a slight lack of height. Stick or twist: Stick While the duo both had their problems in some respects, you can understand McClaren wanting to establish his first-choice pairing as soon as possible. Say what you will about Coloccini's attitude in pre-season but he's certainly a step up from Williamson and to start two centre-backs with no Premier League experience in Mbemba and Lascelles would have been a very dangerous gamble. Unless NUFC bring in another centre-half (which appears unlikely given Coloccini's new deal, Mbemba's signing and the fact that you would struggle to give Williamson or Steven Taylor away), you have to let this duo play together a while longer to let them establish themselves as a pairing.