United are not safe yet and need to give it a go and strike real Hammer blow
TOON CANNOT BE COMPLACENT
STEVE Bruce claimed in a rash moment after the Burnley game that it was two successive wins for Newcastle!
Perhaps he got carried away by Jose Mourinho angrily getting stuck into the Spurs players after United snatched a late equaliser.
It must have felt like a victory to Bruce. In fact, the last time United gained back-to -back victories was last year – on November 27 they won 2-0 at Crystal Palace and followed that up by beating West Bromwich up here 2-1 on December 12.
However, Bruce can secure his successive victories if Newcastle beat West Ham this lunchtime.
I suggest they have a real go because United cannot be complacent. Perhaps they are on a little run and have opened up a sixpoint lead over Fulham but whereas the Cottagers have imploded West Brom are suddenly coming like an express train.
I think they have left it too late but United cannot bank on it.
They have to look to pick up extra points as a safety valve because the games coming up are horrendous.
Victory at Burnley was an enormous relief but to a certain extent it papered over the cracks.
In the first half the Magpies were appalling, as bad as they have been in the dark days of shocking results.
United won only because Allan SaintMaximin went on and completely changed the complexion of the game.
He won it on his own with a terrific display of skill and directness.
Watching the match took me back to when we played against the same opposition in 1974.
Willie McFaul kept us in the FA Cup semifinal with a string of superlative saves and then I broke away to settle the outcome by scoring twice.
This time it was Martin Dubravka keeping Newcastle in with a shout and Saint-Maximin then using his direct running to score one and make one.
West Ham, of course, will be a real challenge. They are very much a first-half team capable of swamping the opposition in that time and building up an unassailable lead.
However, late on they can be caught. Therefore I would resist the temptation to start with Saint-Maximin and bring him on as an impact substitute like they did at Turf Moor.
If he starts with his limited amount of game time following injury he could be exhausted chasing shadows early on and therefore unable to do his damage.
I would try to go with grafters and keep the scoresheet clean for as long as possible – then release Saint-Maximin and Callum Wilson.
The secret, of course, is to keep Jesse Lingard quiet, which is easier said than done.
With that in mind, I would be tempted to ask Paul Dummett to man-mark him.
Dummett loves defending in the way my old colleague Frank Clark used to and he would not switch off.
I worry a little about United defensively because I watched in disbelief as Chris Wood outstripped two of our defenders to set up Burnley’s goal. It was like a carthorse winning the Derby!
Wood is a good target man but he is a plodder - yet he did two Newcastle defenders for pace.
The job David Moyes has done at West Ham is phenomenal.
When Newcastle won there on the opening day the Hammers looked a knocking bet for relegation but they come here for the return fourth top of the league. Compare the job Moyes has done to that of Bruce. What a difference. One has defied all the odds and the other has merely confirmed Geordies’ worst fears. Bruce has got out of jail because Jacob Murphy, Sean Longstaff and Matt Ritchie were brought back into the team. Far from getting credit for doing that, I feel Bruce must be condemned for ignoring them for so long in the first place. All three were crying out to be started.
They were ignored while the likes of Emil Krafth, Jeff Hendrick and Joelinton were regularly on the team sheet.
As far as I am concerned Ritchie would be my skipper, not Jonjo Shelvey who seems a moody player whereas Ritchie rallies and inspires those around him.
It is going to be an interesting game – let us hope those in black and white have the upper hand.
Victory at Burnley was an emormous relief but to a certain extent it papered over the cracks Supermac