Ryan Shawcross has hailed the impact of Newcastle United striker, Papiss Cisse, in the Barclays Premier League and admits he “enjoys playing against these sort of players”.
Newcastle United play host to Stoke City on the weekend, with the former still in with a shot at playing in the UEFA Champions League next season. One player who has been instrumental in the club’s recent form is January signing Papiss Cisse who has scored
10 goals in his previous nine matches.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Ryan-Shawcross-c31996, the Stoke City skipper, however is unfazed by the prospect of facing the striker and claims to be ready for the challenge claiming that the Barclays Premier League is full of players of Cisse’s calibre and that he enjoys playing against them.
He said, "I enjoy playing against these sort of players though - it's a test for me and for the other defenders. In this league, you come up against top-class players week in, week out and Saturday will be no different.”
Shawcross also admitted that his side will need to be at their best to deal with the quality that the Newcastle said have in abundance.
“You only have to take a look through their squad to see the calibre of players they have. http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Hatem-Ben-Arfa-c15884 – the list is endless.”
Newcastle United find themselves level on points with fourth place Tottenham Hotspur and two points ahead of sixth placed http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chelsea-c38786, which means that they will be looking for the win at any and all costs, a move which will suit Stoke City’s style of play.
Shawcross however, is under no delusions as to the challenge Stoke will face on Saturday but believes that as long as they play to their strengths they can come out with a result.
“They (Newcastle) are on an incredible run of form at the moment and we know that this game will be extremely tough for us. But we will go there, play our game and hopefully get the win.”
A win for Stoke will all but guarantee another season in the Barclays Premier League as http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Tony-c35440 Pulis’s side are currently 13 points clear of the relegation zone.
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