Many were shocked to read that Derby County manager Steve McClaren decided not to jump ship and take charge of Newcastle Untied ahead of the final three games of the season. Instead, the former England manager came out and said that he would be staying at iPro Stadium in an attempt to get The Rams back into the Premier League for the first time since 2008. Something that he was expected to do this season after Play Off Final heartbreak at the end of the 2013/14 campaign. And with Newcastle plummeting towards relegation without any sort of resistance under the 'guidance' of current Head Coach John Carver a change at the top was a necessity, with McClaren seemingly the only viable candidate to take over given the options available. Why can't Magpies' faithful dream of a Jurgen Klopp arriving in a blaze of glory and save the damsel in distress that is Newcastle United... Seeing a Championship manager refuse the advances of a Premier League club the size of Newcastle is an abnormality. Normally someone like Steve, who has fallen quite dramatically from the very top of the game, would jump at a chance to get his name back into the mainstream and the 'best league in the world'. Although, there was no good reason for the 'Wally With The Brolly' to take over from Carver. Should he have accepted Mike Ashley's offer to take charge for the remaining games of the season, McClaren couldn't have won in the eyes of the Geordie public, or arguably the eyes of the nation as a whole. If he saved Newcastle's season and kept them in the Premier League then he would have achieved the bare minimum for a squad of Newcastle's ilk. Whereas if he took the club down, he would be berated just as, or even possibly more so than Geordie John is at the moment. Looking at the prospect on the whole, there isn't a lot the former Middlesbrough manager could have changed in three games. The Newcastle hierarchy, if they were actually planning to replace Carver after the humiliation at Leicester, should have sorted this all out a long, long time ago. It has been apparent for some time that Sir Bobby Robson's former number two isn't cut out for management at the highest level, after all. This could have been disastrous for Steve McClaren personally given the fact that his time at Derby has rebuilt his reputation somewhat. All that hard work could have been undone in a matter of weeks if a rush of blood had seen him in the St James' Park dugout for the West Brom game on Saturday. For all the latest NUFC News, Views and Transfers make sure to follow WhatCultureNUFC on Twitter and Facebook.
