Newcastle United manager Alan Pardew admits that his side are struggling to find form at the moment following the 2-2 draw against Reading at the Madejski Stadium.
Newcastle have managed to string together some decent results, but all of them have come from unconvincing performances. So far, the club has only managed two wins from a possible 6 games. Newcastle have only lost to Chelsea so far, but played out three
draws.
Manager Alan Pardew will take one point over none any day, but he was quick to point out the problems his team are coping with.
The team has so far failed to replicate last season’s impressive form which saw them finish at fifth place. Their last game against Reading also ended in a draw, but the result could’ve been much worse.
If it hadn’t been for the in-form Demba Ba, and a touch of fortune for the second Magpies equalizer, Newcastle would’ve returned to Tyneside empty handed.
The fact that Pardew has been without most of his first team players has not helped his cause. Newcastle were without the likes of Cheick Tiote, Danny Simpson, Ryan Taylor, Tim Krul and Fabricio Coloccini for most of the opening few weeks of this campaign.
So far, the team has struggled in midfield, with players such as Hatem Ben Arfa and Yohan Cabaye not able to perform up to the usual expected standards.
Speaking to the press, Pardew said:
“This was a tough place to come – the energy levels of Reading were fantastic. They showed a lot of quality. We were struggling for long periods, and our spirit has seen us get a point again.”
“But we can’t keep relying on our spirit. We’ll have to play a lot better than that if we’re going to get wins especially away from home. I don’t want to say it wasn’t good enough, because I thought we tried hard, but we definitely aren’t playing at our
best, and we need to find it.”
The win against Reading was controversial considering the ‘accidental’ handball that led to the Newcastle equalizer. However, Pardew was not concerned, and was quite happy with the away point.