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Head Coach Searches For Cutting Edge
Written by Newcastle Utd
Steve McClaren is hoping his United side can put an end to their barren run in front of goal against Manchester United
By Dominic Scurr
Steve McClaren is hoping his Newcastle United side can put an end to their barren run in front of goal when they welcome Manchester United to St. James' Park on Tuesday (7.45pm kick-off).
The weekend's Emirates FA Cup defeat at Watford saw the Magpies extend their goalless run to four games in all competitions and McClaren admits his team will need to show more end product ahead of their Barclays Premier League fixture against Louis van Gaal's Red Devils.
"(Goals) are the main thing missing from our game at the moment," said the former England manager.
"There's a lot of frustration there. We've missed some glorious chances recently but we've got players who can get us goals and (Tuesday) is a great opportunity to show that.
"Everybody who's watched us recently can see that we've controlled games and normally you win those. It's unfortunate but we have to solve it.
"We've been in every game and had a chance of winning them all. But we've not taken our opportunities. It's a fine line. That's the difference between picking up points and moving up the table and being in the bottom three.
"We've proved we can score goals, we're just going through one of those spells at the moment.
"(Tuesday) is an opportunity for us and we want that same level of performance that we have been at. I can't fault our performances or the attitude, it's just that quality and end product that we're lacking in the final third. We just have to stay calm and hopefully the results will follow."