The bravado of final summer has long since dissipated and right now the club would be thrilled to finish fourth-bottom of the Premier LeagueAs manifestos move it was positively audacious. Newcastle United were intent on ending the season in the top eight of the Premier League and had determined to throw everything at winning a cup. In Steve McClaren they had just appointed a head coach described as “a perfect fit” by Lee Charnley,the club’s managing director. Charnley was so confident of an upward trajectory that he neglected to insert so called “relegation clauses” in players’ contracts.
It was final July and McClaren had invited those excluded from his official June “unveiling attended only by Newcastle’s “preferred media partners” Sky and the Daily Mirror, to lunch at the training ground. Afterwards everyone repaired to the Strategy Room, and where the former England coach outlined a brave current blueprint.
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Source: theguardian.com