Source: Northern_Echo
No danger of easing off for leaders Newcastle
A SATISFIED Chris Hughton last night claimed that guarding against complacency would be Newcastle United's biggest challenge in the second half of the season.[LNB] Yesterday's Tyne-Tees derby win over Middlesbrough took the Magpies ten points clear at the top of the Championship table, and opened up a 20-point gap between themselves and their regional rivals.[LNB] Goals from Marlon Harewood and Shola Ameobi extended Newcastle's unbeaten run to nine matches, and maintained the only unbeaten home record in the whole of the Championship.[LNB] In recent weeks, the tabletoppers have looked head and shoulders above anyone else in the league, but with a previous Newcastle side having conceded a 12-point advantage at the top of the Premier League in the not-too-distant past, Hughton admits this is not the time to be taking anything for granted.[LNB] I think guarding against complacency is one of the biggest challenges we will face, said the Magpies boss, who takes his side to struggling Sheffield Wednesday on Boxing Day before Derby visit Gallowgate on December 28.[LNB] We are where we are. We are the team to beat and be shot down.[LNB] We're the ones that everyone has to catch, so we have to make sure that as a squad and a group of staff, we continue to do the things that have got us here in the first place.[LNB] Not doing that is what we have to guard against because the games will not get any easier than they have been in the first half of the season. But if we go about our business in the same way, then of course we'll have a chance.[LNB] Yesterday's shut out secured Newcastle's fifth clean sheet in the last six matches, and the quality of the Tynesiders' defending is one of the main reasons they head into the Christmas period with a seemingly unassailable advantage.[LNB] Fabricio Coloccini and Steven Taylor have combined effectively at the heart of the back four, with goalkeeper Steve Harper providing a watertight last line of defence if things go wrong ahead of him.[LNB] As a result, Newcastle have only conceded four goals at St James' Park all season, and while the likes of Ameobi and Harewood have hogged the headlines recently, Hughton was quick to pay tribute to his side's rock-solid defence.[LNB] I don't think we could have envisaged being ten points clear, but we've been able to grind out results, he said.[LNB] We've been able to keep a lot of clean sheets, and there's no doubt that if we do that, we're capable of scoring a goal at the other end.[LNB] And if we're keeping a lot of clean sheets, then of course we're going to win more games than we don't.[LNB] Yesterday's clean sheet had an element of fortune attached to it, as Isaiah Osbourne's goalbound 33rdminute effort struck Steven Taylor on the hand before rebounding to safety off both Harper and a post.[LNB] Referee Kevin Friend chose not to award a penalty, and while Hughton admitted Taylor had handled, he did not feel there was any intent behind the act.[LNB] We all know that sometimes things go for you, sometimes they go against you, that's just the way it is, he said.[LNB] Although I can understand that if you're the manager on the other side of things, you might see things a bit different.[LNB] In terms of the handball incident with Steven, I certainly don't think there was any intent there.[LNB] It did hit his hand though, and I suppose on another day it might have gone against us.[LNB] Zurab Khizanishvili was an interested observer at St James', and while the Georgian's loan deal from Blackburn has officially ended, Hughton has hinted that the centre-half remains part of his plans.[LNB] Harewood is due to return to Aston Villa after the Boxing Day trip to Hillsborough, with Danny Simpson due to rejoin Manchester United on January 18, but it looks increasingly likely that Hughton will attempt to keep all three of the loanees for the second half of the season.[LNB] We have decisions to make on Marlon, Danny and Zurab,[LNB] he confirmed.[LNB] Even though Zurab has played the last game of his loan, he was still here watching.[LNB] Marlon's here until Boxing Day, and Danny's loan finishes on January 18, so we have three decisions to make.[LNB] But the decisions will be kept in house at this stage.[LNB]
