Marlon Harewood: Our hard work’s just begun

Nov 30 2009 by Mark Douglas, The Journal

MARLON Harewood has warned Newcastle United that the hard work to get back into the Premier League hasn’t even begun yet – as he re-stated his desire to see out the season at St James’ Park.

The on-loan striker scored twice to help United to a 3-0 defeat of Swansea City and provide Chris Hughton with a reminder of his ability after enduring a barren run in front of goal since his debut strike against QPR.

It extended United’s advantage over third-placed Leicester City to eight points but Harewood has stressed that comfort zone can quickly evaporate, and feels there are far too many games left to start talking about promotion.

His warning that plenty of hard work is required also applies to his own hopes of extending his stay at Newcastle – with Hughton remaining noncommittal on that subject when quizzed afterwards.

The United boss praised the striker but went no further than saying he had “difficult decisions to make” on Harewood’s future.

The forward, who said he accepted Hughton’s decision to take him off in the second half despite looking hugely frustrating when his number was held up, believes he will improve as United’s season progresses.

“We’ve got an eight-point gap but it means nothing. I’ve been in these positions before and it can quickly disappear,” he said. “We just have to take care of ourselves and not think about what other teams are doing.

“Everyone beats each other in this division so there’s always a chance you can get tripped up.

“We just have to keep putting these wins together and as long as we’re at the top that’s all we need to worry about, the hard work hasn’t even started yet. There’s such a long way to go. We’re not even halfway yet and while we’ve done well so far it’ll count for nothing if we don’t keep it up.”