Sacked boss ‘deserved more from us’

GEORGINIO Wijnaldum has revealed he was ‘devastated’ when Steve McClaren was sacked as Newcastle United manager.

In a revealing interview with Liverpool’s club website, the Dutchman spoke about his season on Tyneside, and perhaps surprisingly to some, the sadness at seeing McClaren leaving the club.

United were languishing in 19th place as McClaren was shown the door having seen his side thumped 3-1 by Bournemouth at St. James’ Park in March 2016.

The former England manager had only won six league games at United despite spending nearly £80million including £14.5million on Wijnaldum

“I was devastated that Steve McClaren left,” Wijnaldum admitted, “because he brought me to Newcastle and he was great to work with and deserved way more from us as players.”

But much to the shock of the football world, Rafa Benitez arrived to takeover and very nearly saved United from the drop – only to be relegated by two points.

Wijnaldum admits that while there was sadness at McClaren’s sacking, he was happy to work with Benitez.

“It was great playing for him, I learned a lot, a lot. When he came we collected a lot of points. He is really good at making a team with the type of players he has and he is also a man who knows how to get every bit of potential out of you. I was happy that he was there.”

Wijnaldum scored 11 goals as United fell into the Championship, and earned a £23m move to Liverpool where he has become an integral part of Jurgen Klopp’s side.