Steve Bruce Newcastle
Joe Willock says Newcastle United are improving every day on the training pitch and will get themselves out of trouble. United face Wolves on Saturday night knowing a defeat would leave them with the chance of falling into the relegation zone should Fulham beat Crystal Palace a day later. There is a fear among the fan base that Newcastle are sleepwalking into trouble – but Willock feels there is a spirit within the squad that can secure safety.
Joe Willock said: “They’re trying to pull us back into the relegation battle, but if we get points out of the next few games then we can put that to bed – and that is what we are looking to do. We are fighting together and we can do it. We have more than enough depth in the squad and we’re capable of doing that. I sense big determination. I’m just coming into the team so I’m not 100% where I need to be with the tactics and stuff but I feel we have a big determination within the group, a big togetherness and we have more than enough ability to get out of where we are right now.”
In the four weeks he’s been on Tyneside, he feels he’s seen an improvement on the training pitch.
Joe Willock added: “We are trying to implement a new style of play. Trying to press high, and do a few different formations so we’re still getting going but as you saw against Manchester United for 60 minutes, we went to Old Trafford and put up a really good fight. If we take that into the next game, we will do really well. We’ve come a long way. Every day in training I can see improvements from when I got here until now – it’s a massive improvement so I can’t wait for the next few weeks to see what it holds.”
Newcastle will go into the game against Wolves looking for just their third win in the Premier League in their last 15 games. Willock believes United have ‘more than enough ability’ to beat Wolves, but if they do, they will have to do it without Callum Wilson, who succumbed to injury on Wilock’s debut. There is a fear among some that Wilson is irreplaceable but Willock wants everyone to step up and find the net.
Joe Willock said: “Everyone should be trying to get on the score sheet. We need to have that in the team. We need to be hungry to score more goals. With Callum Wilson injured right now, we all need to step up and take responsibility to score more goals.”
