Source: FOOTYMAD
Pardew Hits Out At The 'Slackers'
With only two wins in 15 games since the 5-0 hammering of the Hammers in January ... Alan Pardew wants to see more bite from his players. Pardew admits he was alarmed to see signs his players were slacking off in training this week, and has already delivered a stiff rebuke to those guilty of a drop in standards. That disciplinarian approach was fuelled by a meek performance at Liverpool last weekend, which ended in a 3-0 defeat and plenty of criticism for those responsible. Alan Pardew: “Making sure we don’t coast for the rest of the season is something I've got to focus on. “We have a professional respect that we handle ourselves very well in these remaining games. “Speaking to other managers it's a difficult period when you get past that 40-point mark, and we're experiencing that. “The hunger and character of the team is what's driven us and if we let that fall away then we won't win. Our points tally doesn't allow us to relax, but you can sometimes sense on the training ground that our focus has dipped a little bit. We need to make sure we're on top of that as a staff, that we're doing our best and the players need to focus quickly because this is an important game. “The players have been absolutely brilliant and we want to finish in the top 10. We want to finish the season right. For us it's about finishing strongly and making a point. “We did a lot of things very well at Liverpool, but we didn't hurt them enough and offensively we need to improve. We came in for criticism and we need to put that right. “We had a lot of criticism regarding our attitude to the game, and I thought that was a bit harsh, but we need to answer it. “There is an end of season feel to things which I’m not particularly happy about. As a manager you sense these things – and players sense it too.” NEWCASTLE CURRENT FORM ... Liverpool 3 Newcastle 0MAY 1: Barclays Premier League at Anfield. Blackpool 1 Newcastle 1APRIL 23: Barclays Premier League at Bloomfield Road. Newcastle 0 Manchester United 0APRIL 19: Barclays Premier League at St James' Park. Aston Villa 1 Newcastle 0APRIL 10: Barclays Premier League at Villa Park. Newcastle 4 Wolves 1APRIL 2: Barclays Premier League at St James' Park. Stoke 4 Newcastle 0MARCH 19: Barclays Premier League at the Britannia Stadium. Newcastle 1 Everton 2MARCH 5: Barclays Premier League at St James's Park. Newcastle 1 Bolton 1FEBRUARY 26: Barclays Premier League at St James's Park. Birmingham 0 Newcastle 2FEBRUARY 15: Barclays Premier League at St Andrew's. Blackburn 0 Newcastle 0FEBRUARY 12: Barclays Premier League at Ewood Park. Newcastle 4 Arsenal 4FEBRUARY 5: Barclays Premier League at St James' Park. Fulham 1 Newcastle 0FEBRUARY 2: Barclays Premier League at Craven Cottage. Newcastle 1 Tottenham 1JANUARY 22: Barclays Premier League at St James' Park. Sunderland 1 Newcastle 1JANUARY 16: Barclays Premier League at the Stadium of Light. Stevenage 3 Newcastle 1JANUARY 8: FA Cup third round at the Lamex Stadium. Newcastle 5 West Ham 0JANUARY 5: Barclays Premier League at St James' Park.
