Ameobi calls for all-round caution

30 November 2010 10:11
Ameobi calls for all-round caution SHOLA Ameobi has claimed his Newcastle team-mates have to replicate the cautious policy they adopt against the Premier League's big guns when they take on some of the league's so-called lesser lights.[LNB] Having already beaten Arsenal at the Emirates Stadium, the Magpies recorded another notable result when they drew 1-1 with reigning champions Chelsea at the weekend.[LNB] In both matches, Chris Hughton set up his side to be resolute and tough to break down, and neither London club was able to cause too many problems to goalkeeper Tim Krul.[LNB] The contrast to this month's events at the Reebok Stadium, when Krul was beaten by five Bolton goals, was stark, and Ameobi feels Newcastle got their approach wrong when they took on the Trotters.[LNB] The Magpies travel to West Brom this weekend, and the striker is warning against being too attack-minded at the Hawthorns.[LNB] It's a little annoying our best performances keep coming against the best teams, and then we drop points against the others, said Ameobi, who has also seen Newcastle lose to the likes of Blackpool, Stoke and Blackburn this season.[LNB] When we play the top teams, I think we're naturally a bit more cautious. We have a good shape and we limit them to a few chances.[LNB] We are a lot more solid and we don't let them play, but we have to take that into every single game.[LNB] When we have played a team we feel we should be beating, we've been a little bit too gung ho and left ourselves open at the back. It's about getting that balance right.[LNB] We are still finding our feet back in the Premier League and we're not quite there yet.[LNB] We're learning from these experiences, but we have to take that forward.[LNB] Sunday's result might have extended Newcastle's winless run to four matches, but Hughton's side have rightly taken heart from the manner in which they traded blows with the erstwhile league leaders.[LNB] On a bitterly cold afternoon, the Magpies might even have won had Ashley Cole not made a fantastic goalline clearance from Wayne Routledge's second-half shot.[LNB] The doom and gloom created by the previous weekend's defeat has been expelled, and Newcastle's players have banished much of the embarrassment that accompanied their dismal display against Bolton.[LNB] It was a good point in the circumstances, said Ameobi.[LNB] We had to take the pain of Bolton. You can't just forget about something like that and brush it under the carpet like it didn't happen.[LNB] It hurt and it wasn't until Tuesday afternoon that we closed that game down as a team. It was vitally important for us that we did that. We had to learn from the mistakes and then we had to focus on putting it right.[LNB] It felt good to get that sort of point against a team as good as Chelsea's after the result the previous weekend.[LNB] We needed a big performance from everyone, they are they reigning champions and it was never going to be an easy game.[LNB] We had to be at our best, we had to dig in at times and I thought we were brilliant at doing that. This team has the right attitude and it does the right thing after a setback.[LNB] We've got some great characters in the dressing room who want to do well, want to win and want to succeed.[LNB] Cheik Tiote's tough tackling was a major feature of Sunday's display, and the Ivory Coast international has received strong support from compatriot Didier Drogba.[LNB] Drogba played alongside Tiote in this summer's World Cup finals, and the Chelsea striker expects the Magpies midfielder to be one of the stars of the Premier League in the second half of the season.[LNB] He is a very good player he played very well against us, and did well for his team,[LNB] said Drogba. For the Ivory Coast, he's a very important player for us, as people saw in the World Cup for our national team.[LNB] I think Newcastle United supporters have only seen half of his potential so far.[LNB] You have only seen half the player. I say that because the more he plays in the Premier League at first-team level, the better he will become.[LNB] I think he's going to go on and be one of the strongest players in this league.[LNB]

Source: Northern_Echo