We're not panicking, says Kevin Nolan

Feb 11 2010 by Luke Edwards, The Journal

“We talked about it before the game, but we knew there was going to be a low before the end of the season and the Derby game was it.

“Hopefully we are not going to have too many more.

“We’ve got to make sure we respond to it, that’s what has been said as a group. We need a reaction, we want a reaction and that is what we intend to give against Swansea on Saturday. The good thing about this league is you don’t have to wait long to get it out of your system, we’ve got three days to make sure we do the job we should do away from home.”

Despite Nolan’s confidence in Newcastle’s durability, the away form is a worry with just one win in their last seven games away from home comforts at St James’ Park. And United’s stand-in skipper against Derby argued it was up to the players to prove they still have the stomach to churn out results on the road.

He said: “We’ve taken it on the chin and people have had their say, that’s the way it’s been all season. It’s how we react to it because we were sorry for the fans who travelled on Tuesday night because the performance wasn’t good enough from start to finish. We can make excuses about the referee, but we weren’t good enough. We were great on Friday and we were bad on Tuesday, but come Saturday we’re going to make sure we our much improved. That’s for sure.

“We aren’t really aware of the away form, it’s only when it’s pointed out to you that you look at it. We’re not worried about it, but we do know we need to start winning games away from home.”

Nolan, though, feels a win at Swansea will instantly get the promotion bandwagon rolling again, particularly as West Brom are playing in the FA Cup. He said: “I said after the Cardiff game this is only one result, we’re not going to win every game 5-1 and this is what has happened so obviously it’s very frustrating that we didn’t listen to the warnings we gave ourselves.”