Magpies are feeling the pace

IT has been said on more than one occasion that a promotion campaign is a marathon, not a sprint. It’s just as well, because Newcastle United appear to lack the pace to win the Championship.

Chris Hughton, the Newcastle boss, has been desperately searching for a new injection of speed during this month’s transfer window.

But while he has introduced lively wide-men Wayne Routledge and Patrick van Aanholt, along with mobile defender Mike Williamson, Hughton has been unable to land a speedy striker.

And at Leicester City on Saturday night it became even clearer why he needs one. If Hughton wants the drive for the Premier League to progress in the next few months, the remaining hours up to 5pm today will be crucial.

Goals have rarely been a problem for the durable Magpies this season, with Andy Carroll, Kevin Nolan, Shola Ameobi, Peter Lovenkrands and Nile Ranger all contributing their fair share.

But if there is one thing they do not offer it is electric speed, capable of capitalising on a killer through pass that has the potential to unlock dogged and determined defences, like Leicester’s.

Carroll and Nolan were unable to deliver at the Walkers Stadium, when Leicester’s ten men – after the sending off of Richie Wellens after just 30 minutes – rarely looked in danger.

Hughton is acutely aware of where he still needs to strengthen before today’s 5pm transfer deadline and he has given his players the day off as he attempts to make sure he gets his man.

He knows Newcastle should have returned to the North- East on Saturday night with a victory that would have pushed them five points clear with a game in hand. Instead they are just six points clear of third place.

By the time Hughton had emerged to explain the reasons for his side’s inability to break down a side reduced to ten men for more than an hour he had calmed down. His players were not as fortunate as the press.

This might have only been Williamson’s second appearance – he was not as assured as he was on his debut against Crystal Palace last Wednesday – but he has already seen the harder side of his new boss.

“The manager had a few choice words after the game.

He wasn’t happy with us at all,” said Williamson. “The players were very disappointed but we just take the positives and move on to the next game.

“I know Chris comes over as very calm and collected but he has a switch on him. He is a very, very good manager tactically and one-to-one with players.

I enjoy playing under him and I think he will help my game.

“I think he’s got all the attributes to be a good manager.

When he needs to be calm he’ll be calm, but when he needs to be mad he’ll be mad.

There’s a time and a place for being angry and saying a few harsh words.”

In the closing stages, with Leicester looking as likely to score the winner as Newcastle, Hughton was an animated figure in the technical area, urging his team to attack.

His demands were rarely met and debutant van Aanholt, impressive after arriving on a one-month loan from Chelsea, was the only Newcastle man to force goalkeeper Chris Weale into a decent save – and that was from 22 yards in the first half.

Williamson said: “When a team goes down to ten men you want to be pushing forward and creating chances but in the end, considering how we were playing, you take the positives from a draw and a clean sheet and move on.

“It can be tougher playing against ten men. They get behind the ball when they’re down to ten. But they actually went back to two up front and were pushing on in the second half – it was unique.”

Williamson was actually guilty of conceding Leicester’s best chance of the game.

Just five minutes after Wellens was red-carded, a fair decision after picking up bookings for a wild tackle on Alan Smith and a tug on Routledge, Leicester found Matty Fryatt on half way.

Fryatt, the liveliest man going forward on both teams, turned Williamson with ease before being allowed to run and run.

Eventually, after cutting inside two Newcastle players, his net-bound shot was blocked by van Aanholt with Steve Harper beaten.

Newcastle struggled to cope with Fryatt and it was his near-post flick from Matt Oakley’s corner just after the hour that almost found the opener again.

Instead the forward’s header bounced off the knee of Nicky Butt, despite claims for handball, and dropped kindly into the arms of Harper on the goal-line. It could have gone anywhere.

Newcastle did have their moments. Nolan headed over from inside six yards when van Aanholt had got forward from his left-back position to deliver a sweet centre.

Then substitute Nile Ranger was unlucky to see his firsttime strike which beat Weale ruled out for offside when he just strayed ahead of his marker to meet Carroll’s centre.

But even though Routledge also wasted a good chance, when he was picked out by van Aanholt’s perfect long pass, Newcastle would have been fortunate had they won.

“The positive is we got the point – we ground it out,” said Williamson, knowing they have won just one of their last four in the league, despite maintaining a run of no defeats in 14.

“We just want to get back to good performances and keep going to stay where we are and push ourselves over the line.

“At least we didn’t lose. We take the positives – a point and a clean sheet.”

Match facts

Bookings: Wellens (17, foul); Berner (42, foul); Williamson (62, foul)

Sent off: Wellens (30, second bookable offence)

Referee: Andre Marriner (Walsall) – a couple of strange decisions but, even though Leicester disagree, he got the big calls right 6

Attendance: 29,067

Entertainment: ✰✰

LEICESTER CITY (4-5-1):

Weale 6; Morrison 6, Brown 7, Hobbs 6, Berner 6; Waghorn 6 (Howard 72), King 5, Oakley 6, Wellens 4, Gallagher 6 (Dyer 66, 5); FRYATT 8 (Solano 84). Subs: Nielson, McGivern, Logan, N’Guessan.

NEWCASTLE UNITED (4-4-2):

7 Harper: Excellent contribution to help keep Leicester’s many attacks at bay

4 Taylor: Caught out of position on numerous occasions

7 Coloccini: Got in the way of almost everything that arrived in his direction

6 Williamson: Made up for a couple of lapses with some good interceptions

8 VAN AANHOLT: Was the only player in a Newcastle shirt that caught the eye

4 Routledge: A disappointing first start down the right flank

5 Smith: Struggled to deal with Oakley and had a rare off day

6 Butt: The steadiest man in the middle and could have scored late on 5Guthrie: Took almost every dead ball but with little success

4 Nolan: Failed to make an impression in the final third after going close early on 5Carroll: Never looked like threatening the Leicester goalkeeper

Subs:

Ranger (for Smith 62): Had the ball in the net, but ruled offside 5 Pancrate (for Nolan 75) (not used): Hall, Lovenkrands, Gutierrez, Krul, Kadar.

MAN OF THE MATCH

PATRICK Van Aanholt – the Chelsea full-back was the pick of a poor bunch at the Walkers Stadium.