Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor has backed his team to cope with the loss of captain Fabricio Coloccini, who is suspended for Sunday’s game against West Ham.
The defender believes that the Magpies’ squad is strong enough to handle West Ham without their captain and influential defender Fabricio Coloccini.
The Argentinian international was shown a red card in the 1-1 draw against http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Liverpool-c39809 last weekend, where he was sent off for a reckless and dangerous tackle on Luis Suarez.
The tackle had been deemed to be malicious and deliberate, but replays show the player had only mistimed his challenge, and was careless to have done so.
Manager http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Alan-c4244 Pardew had defended his player in the wake of criticism and comments from many players and managers alike, who had branded the tackle as horrible and shocking.
http://www.senore.com/Football-soccer/Chris-c9006 Coleman had gone as far as to label the tackle ‘a coward’s challenge’. Without Coloccini, Newcastle had struggled for the greater part of the season. The player’s physical and reassured presence at the heart of Newcastle’s
defence was missed when he was ruled out injured towards the opening few games of this campaign.
West Ham’s trip to St. James’ Park this weekend poses a stern challenge for the team, who will badly need Coloccini’s presence as they prepare to handle the imposing Andy Carroll.
Coloccini is set to serve a three-match suspension, but defender Steven Taylor is confident that Newcastle can cope without the defensive powerhouse. Speaking to the club’s official website, the player said:
“Other players will come in, we’ll stick together and look ahead to the game. That’s all we can do. I think West Ham are a very, very good team and the formation they play has worked for them and their style of play as well.”
“So it’s going to be a difficult game, we know that, but it’s our place and they’re going to be more worried about what our players have got.”
“But it’s going to be tough with Andy Carroll coming back and Kevin Nolan coming back, both wanting to prove a point.”
Newcastle will go into the team with confidence, having managed an impressive and well deserved comeback in the 2-2 game against Club Brugge this Thursday in the Europa League.
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