Source: Northern_Echo
Magpies unite to silence club’s critics
HAVING taken his fair share of flak as Newcastle crashed out of the Premier League, Alan Smith feels this season's successful promotion push has silenced the club's critics.[LNB] Smith was one of a number of players criticised for consistently underachieving last season, a collective failure that many felt would be carried over into the current campaign.[LNB] A difficult pre-season programme merely added to the sense of crisis that was still apparent on Tyneside last August but, from the opening game at West Brom onwards, Newcastle's players have confounded those predicting a season of strife.[LNB] Monday's promotion party at St James' Park confirmed their return to the top-flight at the first time of asking, and Smith claims his team-mates have rebuffed many of the accusations that were levelled at them last summer.[LNB] On the first day of the season, we went to West Brom and a lot of people outside of Newcastle and outside of the club had written us off, said the skipper, who has started 28 of the Magpies' 41 Championship matches this term.[LNB] They questioned whether the players would want it enough. They questioned our integrity and whether we were professional enough, but we have just got on with it.[LNB] We were criticised, rightly, because we had been so disappointing when we went down. As a club, it's been nice to have the opportunity to put that right, and we will put it right even more if we go on to win the title.[LNB] Smith is part of a cabal of senior players who have been integral to the development of a strong team spirit that has helped Newcastle recover from the occasional setbacks encountered this season.[LNB] The likes of Steve Harper, Kevin Nolan and Nicky Butt have also ensured the dressing room has remained united in the face of a gruelling fixture schedule, a scenario that represents a marked contrast to the infighting that plagued the second half of last season.[LNB] Newcastle united has been a description rather than a name, with a series of clearthe- air talks during the preseason, establishing a bond that has endured the highs and lows of a nine-month Championship campaign.[LNB] We are a squad, football isn't now about big egos and individuals, said Smith. We went down as a team, Newcastle United, but we go back up as a team that is more united.[LNB] I've loved this season. Anybody who came back to this club in the summer, they had to be committed and they had to want to play in this league.[LNB] We knew that and we've shown it all season.[LNB] There are a lot of good players and proud people in this league and we've needed everyone to play their part.[LNB] What we've seen is a team that is together and united, that wants to do well for each other.[LNB] The challenge now, of course, is to carry that unity of spirit and purpose into the Premier League, and to ensure any summer arrivals buy in to the camaraderie that has been established.[LNB] Smith admits Newcastle's players will have to improve if they are to survive in the top-flight, but the former England international denies the demands will be more intense next season.[LNB] I don't think we'll have as much pressure on us next season as we've had this, he said.[LNB] And anyway, the only pressure that counts is what you put on yourself.[LNB] We know the standards we should set and the standards we've already set this season.[LNB] We are probably going to have to go away in the summer and come back 20 per cent better, fitter and stronger. That's the thing. To survive in the Premier League, we are going to have to be better.[LNB]
