Iain Dowie still confident that NUFC can avoid relegation

May 7 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

“The way we want to run the club – getting that right is important. Albeit we’re only in initially for a brief time – getting those things right is important.

“They might look like long-term measures to correct certain things but they will benefit us in the short-term.

“I can’t wait to see the reaction of the players when we start working on the formation and the line-up today.

“That’s where we get a sense of the urgency and the desire to turn things around in this game and I’m looking forward to seeing it in the players. Confidence

is still high.” It will need to be for the visit of Gareth Southgate’s Boro in a game that will shape United’s season.

Lose it and Newcastle are as good as down – victory and safety is once again within reach.

Dowie says that the players should welcome that kind of pressure. “There’s no question that this is an absolutely pivotal game,” he said. “We must come out of it with three points.

“You can dress it up any other way and talk about not putting any unnecessary pressure on the lads but the players that Alan picks will have to cope with it.

“It will be a wonderful occasion to play in. The stakes of the match are absolutely huge but on the flipside it should be a wonderful spectacle – and everyone has to rise to the occasion.”

Meanwhile, while Taylor is back, there is no chance of Jose Enrique making an early return from a hamstring injury.

“Jose is going through the process of a rehab from a hamstring injury and he certainly won’t be available for Monday,” Dowie revealed.

“Steven Taylor is training fully and we’re pleased with him and everything that he has done so far.

“Now we see how it reacts later in the week. It’s really just a case of seeing where we are – he’s trained fully a few times this week. It is a possibility that he’ll play on Monday, we’ll have a better idea in the coming days.”