Boss Targets Cherries Double

By Dominic Scurr

Newcastle United head coach Steve McClaren is targeting a Premier League double over Bournemouth ahead of Saturday's Barclays Premier League fixture at St. James' Park (3pm kick-off).

The Magpies claimed a hard-earned 1-0 victory on the south coast back in November, thanks to Ayoze Perez's fine first-half goal.

And McClaren knows another three points against the Cherries could lift his side out of the top flight relegation zone.

"My concentration and focus is purely on Bournemouth and winning that game," said the former England manager.

"We're coming into the business end (of the season) so any sort of win will be tremendous.

"We need to get results to make sure we're in the league next season. (Bournemouth) will be another tough game.

"Every game is a must win. We've got 11 games left and we're just not thinking about losing the game tomorrow.

"We know in football that things can turn around and change and (Bournemouth) is another good opportunity for us."

With Bournemouth sitting eight points clear of United and the Premier League's bottom three, McClaren is well aware of the threat their opponents can cause.

"I admire what Eddie Howe has done (at Bournemouth)," he continued.

"I thought they always had a great chance of staying up. The work ethic and culture he has created there is great and it's going to be a very difficult game for us.

"At the moment we're just preparing, we need to show some fight and get a little bit more luck in front of goal.

"When you're not performing and you're in the bottom three you know you're missing something. It's not rocket science, we know we're missing goals and we're missing clean sheets and we need to put that right.

"People to do their jobs constantly and when you get that you get results.

"That's what we want to see from the players for the next 11 games - starting tomorrow."