Guthrie: Our job is not finished yet
May 14 2009 by Luke Edwards, The Journal
“On and off the pitch it has been a season to forget. If we can stay up it will have been a good season I suppose, but at the same time we also know that isn’t good enough for a club like this.
“The older players have tried to help the younger ones, but at the end of the day there isn’t much they can do because it’s just as hard for them when you’re going so long without a win.
“They have to go out there and play as well, but I think they have shown the way with their performance the other night, the likes of Nicky Butt, Kevin Nolan and Mark Viduka.
“It does grind you down, I think there were more nerves with each game that went by, but we were strong and got the win we needed.
“This does feel as though it is the start of something and the end of a bad period for the club. When we came off the pitch, the reaction of the fans was amazing.
“But that is all it is, a start. We have to go out there again and put in just as good a performance against Fulham.
“The fans have been brilliant, I’m just pleased we have finally given them something to celebrate.”
One of Newcastle’s goalscorers on Monday, Peter Løvenkrands, is hoping his goals earn him a new contract.
The Danish striker’s signing was widely derided when he joined as a free agent in January, but the goal against Middlesbrough was his third in ten league games.
“It is a great club to be at, and I hope we stay up and I can be a part of that,” said the 29-year-old, whose contract expires in the summer.
“But you never know what will happen in the world of football – if they wish to keep me, or whatever will happen.”
Meanwhile, Dutch 1974 World Cup finalist Wim van Hanegem claims to have been contacted “several months ago” by Newcastle about the possibility of becoming their manager.
In a radio interview yesterday the 65-year-old former Feyenoord, Sparta Rotterdam and Utrecht coach was vague about the timeline of events, but said he had been approached by the Magpies and play-off finalists Burnley.
Van Hanegem was sacked by Utrecht in the run-up to Christmas. Newcastle appointed Joe Kinnear in October and replaced him with Alan Shearer in April. Both were temporary appointments.
