Newcastle boss admits his side are 'miles away' from meeting targets ahead of Norwich tie

Newcastle boss Steve McClaren admits his side are 'miles away' from meeting pre-season targets

STEVE McCLAREN admits his struggling Newcastle team is "miles away" from achieving pre-season targets.

 

The Magpies face Norwich at St James's Park propping up the table without a league win in his watch.

Before a ball was kicked, in a bullish statement from managing director Lee Charnley, it was revealed Newcastle's sights were set on a top-eight finish and a decent cup run.

 

Norwich manager Alex Neil insists his side cannot afford any thoughts an easy ride

Two months on and they are already out of the Capital One Cup, beaten by a Sheffield Wednesday second string, and five points adrift of Premier League safety.

McClaren admits a campaign that promised so much is already about survival. "Being in the top eight is miles away," he said. "It's all about getting to that 40-point mark, then you can think about other things.

 

"That's the focus and if someone said to me now, 'You'll have 40 points by mid-April', I'd take it.

"People would think I'd gone absolutely daft and crazy if I was sitting here now saying we'd turn that down."

Norwich boss Alex Neil knows his side cannot afford any thoughts of an easy ride.

"If you don't perform well, then nine times out of 10 you will lose the game," he said. "We like to worry about what we are going to do, and not the opposition."