Up until recently, it had been doom and gloom at St James’ Park. The team were doing badly every week, with the 2-1 home defeat to Blackburn at the end of September a particular low in the season. Kevin Keegan has gone, Mike Ashley is selling up, but now things are starting to look up for Newcastle.
OK, so they might yet have a relegation scrap on their hands, although two wins, two draws and a defeat from their last five matches suggests otherwise. Setanta reports that Michael Owen is confident that the team can continue to improve, while it’s not beyond the realms of possibility that United can land a place in the UEFA Cup, according to the fit-again striker.
“You know how The Premier League is going to finish at the top,” he said.
“But, if we have a decent run, fifth, sixth or seventh place is not impossible for us.
“It’s still early in the season and a couple of wins can shoot you up the table – the last two results have shown that.”
“We’re confident we can continue to climb,” said Owen. “We’re a decent team and we’re in a temporary position.”
The media are no longer poking fun at Joe Kinnear, who got off to a sweary start in front of assorted journalists. However, the siege mentality that the interim Newcastle manager has created seems to be paying off, with the team becoming increasingly difficult to beat. Where do Magpies fans think they’ll end up this season?
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