Source: Northern_Echo
Magpies on the verge of history
WHILE relegation from the Premier League made last season one of the worst in Newcastle United's history, the current campaign could yet end as the best in more than a century.[LNB] If the Magpies avoid defeat in their remaining six home games, they will have gone through an entire season unbeaten at St James' Park for the first time in 103 years.[LNB] Some of the club's greatest line-ups have failed to hit such heights, and for all that the strength of opposition in the Championship can be challenged, there will be no doubting the extent of the achievement if Newcastle's home record remains unblemished between now and the middle of May.[LNB] Barnsley will be the latest side to attempt to wreck it when they arrive on Tyneside this afternoon.[LNB] Then third-placed Nottingham Forest are likely to provide the biggest threat when they travel to Gallowgate on March 29.[LNB] Unsurprisingly, Magpies manager Chris Hughton has attempted to play down talk of record breaking, insisting that promotion remains the one and only ambition in the final two months of the season.[LNB] But for all that an unbeaten home record will be an irrelevance if Newcastle slip out of the top two, Hughton accepts that the club's performances at St James' have formed the bedrock of their promotion push.[LNB] Most teams would have better home records than away records, but I think our players have a real desire to win at home, he said.[LNB] We haven't always played so well at home, but we've tended to find a way to get a result.[LNB] We've always had a good fighting spirit.[LNB] If you look at the away games, and I even think you can include Derby in this, I can't think of too many matches where we haven't been in the game.[LNB] We've always looked capable of getting something.[LNB] Whether we would have deserved it or not is another matter, but we always look like we can nick something out of the game.[LNB] That being the case, the mentality is the same at home, and it's just a fact that when you're at home, you tend to get a bit more of the rub of the green.[LNB] You're used to the stadium and you have the home support behind you.[LNB] The longer the game goes at St James', the more we feel that if anyone's going to win, it's going to be us.[LNB] That winning mentality has helped Newcastle establish a six-point advantage over second- placed West Brom and an eight-point gap to thirdplaced Forest ahead of today's home game with the Tykes.[LNB] With 13 games to go, the Magpies are exceptionally well placed, but Hughton insists there is no danger of complacency.[LNB] Newcastle's lead was cut to a point when they claimed one point out of six against Derby and Swansea, and with a testing North-East derby at Middlesbrough to follow this afternoon's game, nobody in the Magpies camp is taking anything for granted.[LNB] It's too early to talk about tasting promotion, said Hughton. Although we have a points difference between ourselves and Forest in third, we're driven by the recognition that if you have a bad week, the whole picture can change.[LNB] Whenever we've had a bad result this season, we've had the ability to bounce back, but the reality is that a bad week for us and a good week for someone like Forest could change things.[LNB] Nobody really wants to get carried away. I think there's a confidence in the group there's no doubt about that but I haven't overheard one conversation where people are talking about promotion and being in the Premier League next season.[LNB] Hughton will welcome fullback Jose Enrique back into his starting line-up this afternoon, and Nicky Butt is likely to return to the substitutes' bench after a thigh injury.[LNB] Peter Lovenkrands is available after shaking off a hamstring problem, but the Dane may also have to settle for a place on the bench.[LNB] Leon Best has yet to break his duck following a January move from Coventry, but Hughton remains satisfied with the Republic of Ireland international's contribution.[LNB] I've been delighted by what I've seen from him, he said. He hasn't been able to score and I think we all know what that can do to players in terms of their confidence.[LNB] But I've seen enough in Leon to know that he's a talent and that he has ability.[LNB]
