Taylor: Take A Break & Work Things out

Newcastle United defender Steven Taylor has spoken out with regards to Newcastle's recent performances in the Premier League, the lack of points they have won and the break they have, during which they intend to go back to basics and sort things out. Taylor is not the only one to call for some serious work on the training pitch. Manager Kevin Keegan has reiterated the idea of going back to basics.

Taylor said;

"The team performance in the first half was quality. The second half was like the Manchester United game at Old Trafford. The shape had gone and set-pieces have cost us again.

Everyone says the confidence is brittle - but then you look at the first-half performance so I don't think you can say that.

We are in a bit of a hole now and we've got to dig ourselves out of it and stick together. We can't afford to feel sorry for ourselves. It has been tough and we've got to get through it.

At the training ground we have to sort things out. We are a massive club and it is up to ourselves to sort it out.

We've got a 15-day break and I think we've got to get back to the drawing board. We've got enough time to get things sorted.

We will reflect on this game and take things from there. We need to look at games, look at what has been going wrong. For us, set-pieces have been a massive thing this season.

That's all we can do, stay together and work hard. The manager has told the lads to stick together.

It has been a difficult few months for us, and these aren't easy fixtures, but we have to deal with that."

Keegan complemented these thoughts after he watched his side lose 4-1 to Aston Villa, firstly he clarified Given's injury;

"He's pulled his groin, so we'll know more this week.

We've got the Man United game in two weeks and that looks like it might be a bit quick for him.

It's in the dressing room that we have to solve the problems between the staff, the manager and the players. That's reality.

We'll do our work in Newcastle at our own training ground. I'll give them a couple of days to freshen up now.

We've got a long time to work on things and we'll look at different ways of getting more out of the players we've got - things we can do to improve us as a Premier League side."

And denied any feud between Mark Viduka and himself after benching the Aussie striker for the whole match at the weekend, but didnt quite clear up the reason he didnt bring him on;

"I've never had a spat with any of my players at this football club.

As I said, it's one thing having good players, but we've got to get them playing better and believing and trusting each other a bit more.

It's sounds simple, but when you're on a bad run like us, they're major issues."