Garth Crooks has hailed Fabricio Coloccini for his performance against Manchester United.
Pundit Garth Crooks has told BBC Sport that keeping Fabricio Coloccini at Newcastle was one of Steve McClaren’s best decisions so far.
The Magpies earned a credible 0-0 draw at Manchester United this weekend, producing a much sterner display compared to the week before, where they lost 2-0 to Swansea City.
The performance will give Magpies fans hope that they can continue to grow, develop and improve under new manager McClaren, even though he is still yet to pick up his first Premier League win as Newcastle boss.
Key to the display against Manchester United was centre back Coloccini. The 33-year-old centre back led his team-mates superbly in a real captain’s display, again bouncing back from a poor performance against Swansea City.
Coloccini needs to continue to play like that, especially having signed a one-year contract extension at St. James’ Park earlier this month – despite interest from Crystal Palace and his former Magpies boss Alan Pardew, as reported by The Mirror.
Now, with Coloccini’s future committed to Newcastle, BBC Sport pundit Garth Crooks not only hailed Coloccini for his ‘very impressive’ performance, but also praised McClaren for making what he considers to be one of the best decisions of his reign so far.
“The Argentine’s ability to organise his defence, even after Manchester United finally understood that playing forward wasn’t a criminal offence, was very impressive,” said Crooks.
“One of the many decisions the newly installed manager Steve McClaren has made since his arrival at St James’s Park is to retain the services of Coloccini. Probably not his most difficult decision but certainly one of his best,” he added.
With a young defender arriving in Chancel Mbemba, Coloccini needs to use his experience to great effect, nurturing the more inexperienced players on Tyneside and passing on words of advice off the pitch.
On the pitch, Coloccini must continue to lead his time in an organised fashion – something Newcastle fans haven’t been accustomed to in recent years.
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