We have the quality but the Ki is not to let our heads drop after bad start to the season
MIDFIELDER BACKING TOON TO COME GOOD
TOON midfielder Ki Sung-yueng insists Newcastle United have enough quality to get through their difficult early-season form.
The South Korea international was not at his sharpest during the 3-1 defeat against Nottingham Forest but at least got 90 minutes in the tank after joining the club late in pre-season due to the World Cup.
Ki will be a good addition to the squad once he is match-fit but he is confident United have the required levels of ability to climb the Premier League table.
It does not get much tougher with Manchester City away next, but Ki told the Chronicle: “Last season this team was together with their discipline and they were working so hard to stay in the Premier League.
“That is why we finished in 10th position. Everyone was so desperate to stay in the Premier League.
“There is no problem with anybody in the squad and the atmosphere is very good.
“Maybe because we have lost some games outside of the camp people are trying to say something blah blah blah - but these are difficult fixtures.
“We played Spurs and Chelsea and City next.
“Of course we could have taken something from Cardiff and maybe we could win but we still did not lose that one.
“It is a difficult time but we don’t need to have our heads down. It can happen.”
Newcastle crumbled in the final
stages against Forest to crash out of the League Cup at the first hurdle for the second season running. Reflecting on a tough night, Ki added: “It was disappointing and like Chelsea as we lost the game in the final moments. “We had the same problems at Forest as we did on Sunday. “We are very disappointed especially after we could have drawn the game after 90 minutes after scoring in the last minute. “We have to learn from this game and the last one against Chelsea. “We have to focus on the last minutes of games so we can pick up points. “Forest has already gone so we have to focus on Man City now.” Ki was one of the players who made his way over to the travelling fans to acknowledge their support at the City Ground.
In the immediate aftermath of defeat, Ki and some of his teammates threw their shirts into the crowd following the disappointing 3-1 loss.
He said: “It is always great to have fans behind us and supporting us like at Forest.
“It was on a Wednesday night and a lot of them travelled to support us.
“We feel sorry because we could not get the result for them.
“It is always disappointing for the fans and I feel sorry for them.
“We have to look forward to the next game now.
“We have just started the season so we don’t need to panic or have too much disappointment because our fixture list has been quite difficult against tough sides.
“Hopefully we can get something from the next game. If we cannot we have to focus on the next one.”