There was a familiar face at Newcastle United’s training ground yesterday and one who offered vivid proof of the old maxim that managers never stop learning.
Once of England and most recently Wolfsburg, where he was sacked in February, Steve McClaren dropped in to watch Alan Pardew’s team train and, in the process, may have provided a valuable service.
An early adopter of the Uefa Pro Licence, the only man to take Middlesbrough to a leading trophy and a winner of the Eredivisie with Twente, McClaren is hardly a coaching novice. His spell with England may not have been memorable for wholly positive reasons, but like many managers, the Yorkshireman hoards information.
“Steve has come up here to see what we are doing,” Pardew said. “He asked if he could come in — he’s an old mate, so it was a personal call — and he just wanted to see what we have going on here. It was like me when I was out of work. I went to Man U, Swansea and other places. You just want to keep in touch and see what’s going on.
“Steve is a good guy and it will not be long before he is back in the game. We have shared some information as I’ve always found him to be very open. He is always interested in what is going on at the training ground and gleaning info himself. He is an open-minded coach, as I am. It was nice to see him. He’s in good shape and obviously wanting to get back into it soon. I hope he does.”
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With Newcastle having already banked £30 million of the £35 million fee Liverpool agreed to pay for Andy Carroll’s signature in the last transfer window, Pardew tapped into McClaren’s considerable knowledge of the European market. In spite of their hefty resources, there will be no change to the club’s approach; for the most part, their signings will be young or nearing the end of their contracts. They want value.
“Picking Steve’s brains is exactly what I’ve done,” Pardew said. “We will hopefully be in the market in the summer and Steve has come across countless players in the last two or three years from working in Europe. There are players I have asked him about and it’s very important to have that kind of information. I asked him what the Dutch league was like, about this player and that player. And Germany, too. I got some great information.”
While there was little scope to do so, failing to sign a replacement of note for Carroll in January (Shefki Kuqi arrived on freedom of contract) represented a risk. With Newcastle ensconced in a poor run of form — they have won only one of their past ten matches — and before a critical game against Wolverhampton Wanderers tomorrow, they did not require bad news about another forward.
Leon Best has scored six goals in his nine league starts for Newcastle this season, but he missed the 4-0 defeat away to Stoke City with an ankle problem and may miss the rest of the campaign. “It’s possible, yes,” Pardew said. “We have to get him seen by a specialist on Monday to see exactly what the problem is, because it is just not right. Whether we’re talking weeks or months, I have no idea at this stage.”
Pardew has scuppered Celtic’s hopes of signing Fraser Forster, the goalkeeper who has been on loan at the Clydesdale Bank Premier League club this season, permanently. “I have made it clear that Fraser will be coming back here in pre-season to fight for the first-team jersey,” he said.