Blackburn Rovers beat Newcastle United 1-0 at St. James’ Park on Saturday.
Quoted by the Chronicle, Blackburn Rovers manager Owen Coyle has admitted he would love to have Newcastle United players Aleksandar Mitrovic and Christian Atsu.
Coyle took his Rovers team to the North East on Saturday to take on the table-topping Magpies.
It proved to be a happy trip for him and his side as a late goal saw them leave St. James’ Park with all three points.
The game saw Rafa Benitez make six changes to his Newcastle team as he continues to employ a rotation policy this season.
The Spaniard came in for criticism for that decision and when asked about it, Coyle simply says he would love to have the players that Benitez does.
“The only thing I would say is I would love to have a Mitrovic, I would love to have an Atsu,” he told the Chronicle.
“They are the sort of outstanding players that are coming in and they are the luxury they have.”
It will be interesting to discover if Benitez will stick with his rotation policy after this defeat.
The loss was a chastening one, to say the least, especially given how Blackburn have struggled at the wrong end of the table this season.
It also suggested that the fringe players that Benitez has at his disposal may not be quite as good as first thought and that could force him into abandoning the rotation policy he has adopted so far for the good of Newcastle’s campaign.
Blackburn’s manager Owen Coyle
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