Manager Alan Pardew has spoken about Wayne Rooney, Patrick Bamford and given an injury update ahead of this weekend’s clash with Manchester United.
Beginning with the threat that will be Wayne Rooney, Pardew said we couldn’t underestimate the England striker as although he only has two Premier League goals to his name so far this season, that’s been down to the position he now occupies and the resulting lack of service.
‘He is at the top of the pitch now and maybe he is not getting the service he would probably want. I can see a little bit of frustration in him but that makes him dangerous. Rooney has proved many times, particularly when he gets criticism, that he can deliver. We’ll be on our guard for Wayne. He’s an outstanding player, he’s the England captain and we’ll give him the respect he deserves.’
Pardew went on to admit that our current run is a ‘real test’ but it’s a run of results we are looking forward to turning around.
‘This little run is a real test. But I still think if a bit of fortune had gone our way we could have picked up points.’
As for Bamford, Pardew is quoted as saying.
‘I spoke to him when he first came to the football club. I said: ‘You have to understand that although Middlesbrough is a high level, coming into the Premier League with this team is an even higher level. So you’re going to have to work hard at it.’ And he is working hard at it and I have to say I have been very pleased with his attitude, his application and he is definitely physically and mentally gotten stronger through this process. Hopefully when he hits the ground at some point, whether it’s for us, Chelsea or somebody else, he’s going to feel the benefit of it. He is, in my opinion, a possible England player at some stage but he has got some learning to do. Like all young players, they sometimes have to add something to their game to get over that final hurdle. We’re a good side – we’ve proved that. OK, our last results in the last three haven’t been what we wanted but the performance level has been there, apart from the Man City game. It’s a tough team for him to get in to.’
Bamford himself has been quoted, saying of his recent Capital One Cup start that he feels he’s been taking on board what the gaffer has been asking of him.
‘I have been doing all I can to get in the team and, hopefully, with the work I have been doing over the last few weeks I might get a few more chances. There was a bit of a discussion with the manager over what position I would play. Once we sorted that out, he wanted me to be more aggressive. He sat me down the other day and said he had seen more of that from me, so he said I deserved a start.’
As for injury news ahead of the match, the gaffer confirmed that we are likely to be without Yohan Cabaye, Pape Souare and Joel Ward as they are all doubts at this stage – but Connor Wickham and Marouane Chamakh have again already been ruled out.
‘Cabaye’s a doubt, we’ll have to see how he is tomorrow. Connor Wickham is a definite no, Pape Souare is a doubt, Wardy is a doubt. Chamakh is not going to be involved. Punch will be okay. There’s a lot of good news in the background here, in terms of the little injury crisis we had three or four weeks ago. The skipper’s back, Ward is now back, Pape Souare’s getting back to fitness and should be back next week. Hopefully Connor Wickham should be okay next week. Chamakh is fit, but we need to give him a pre-season.’
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