Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has issued a rallying call to his players ahead of Sunday's tough looking trip to Stoke.
Toon chief determined to put things right at St James'
Beleaguered Newcastle boss Sam Allardyce has issued a rallying call to his players ahead of Sunday's tough looking trip to Stoke for an FA Cup third round tie.
The Mapgies travel to the Potteries aware that defeat would exacerbate Allardyce's woes and further increase the pressure on the troubled Toon chief.
Three successive defeats have cast a shadow over St James' Park, although owner Mike Ashley has intimated Allardyce will be given time to turn things around.
And with this in mind, Allardyce has asked his players to draw inspiration from the games in which they have performed to their potential this season and put any negative displays to the back of their minds.
Inconsistent
He said: "I am the first to admit we have had an inconsistent season, but we have shown ourselves eminently capable of top-class performances, which is what makes it all the more annoying that we have too often failed to produce that standard.
"Which is the real Newcastle United? The one that played excellently against Arsenal at St James' Park in early December and also defeated Spurs and Everton in style, or the one that fell to defeat at Wigan, Reading and Derby?
"I firmly believe it is the former. In my view, the home match against Arsenal was the sort of standard to which we must aspire every time.
"That night, despite losing an early goal to a high-quality team, we got at them with skill, passion and energy and forced our way back into the contest to get a draw that could easily have been a victory.
"Everyone pulled together on the night and nine times out of 10, that sort of performance would bring a win."
Infuriating form
Allardyce concedes he is at a loss to explain his side's struggle to find any kind of consistency but the former Bolton chief is determined to put things right in 2008.
"But for some infuriating reason we have not produced that form regularly, which is why we find ourselves in mid-table going into 2008.
"The side that gave the ball away so badly against Wigan is not the real Newcastle United by any stretch of the imagination, but the league table does not lie."
