We'll Thrive On Pressure - Boss

[Scottish Mag 3]

GLENN Roeder is targeting a top six finish and a trophy in the new season - and is hoping his players will thrive on the pressure of giving him what he wants.

 

Roeder spoke to Newcastle World TV on the eve of the new season, and after a masterminding a run which lifted the Magpies into seventh spot last time around, he wants a higher finish in the new campaign.

 

Roeder said: "I think you have to put yourself under pressure.

 

"The best players perform at their best when they are under pressure.

 

"There is a great feeling of excitement when you walk down that tunnel and onto the pitch. It's a stage, if you like, a big stage for the players to perform on.

 

"There will be 52,000 supporters there expecting good results, winning results, and rightly so.

 

"Our target for the season is clearly to improve on last year's seventh-placed finish.

 

"We want to improve on the 58 points we collected, and if we have some luck in the draws then I really, really want to make a sustained effort to bring that elusive piece of silverware back to St. James' Park.

 

"We are in three cup competitions, and that is enough for anybody to be playing in.

 

"We will make sure that when those cup games come around that we are in the right frame of mind to get into the hat for the next round.

 

"There are teams that are not as big as Newcastle who have won silverware in the last 50 years.

 

"That is frustrating for me, and it must be really frustrating for our supporters.

 

"They crave it, and they are right to crave a piece of silverware - they certainly deserve it.

 

"But it is the players who make it happen, so winning a trophy - and improving in the league - is the goal for the new season."

[Asprilla 96]

© Glenn "If you want" Roeder