Owen In Full Support For Manager Souness

By Matt Jones
December 1 2005

Summer signing Michael Owen feels that manager Graeme Souness should be given time to show just what he can do with a fully fit Newcastle United squad, that has had time to gel properly - no matter what the result on Saturday is against Aston Villa.

Some fans have been shouting for Souness' head following a truly dreadful performance in their 1-0 Carling Cup defeat to Wigan on Wednesday, but Michael Owen wishes these fans would zip it for a while and give him chance,.

OWEN (Speaking to Sky Sports News): "The manager's proved his worth whenever he's had a full squad, we've won more games than we've drawn and he's been there and done it.

"He's a top manager, everyone's behind him. I think it will be the same as last time, when I came to the club we were second from bottom and everyone was talking about that then, and then my first game we drew and then I think we won four on the spin and no one even mentioned it.

"All of a sudden we've had another batch of injuries, we're struggling for beds in the treatment room at the moment, and that's coincided us with not picking up any results.

"Everyone's wanting to put in a performance on Saturday, and if it doesn't happen on Saturday I think the manager and everyone, well there's no excuses for losing but we've got so many players still out injured that how can you blame the manager when he's picking from 11 or 12 players and there's young lads being brought in?

"That is great for them but it's also a hard situation to come in to, it's hard for them to perform and the manager's proved with a full squad he wins games, there's no doubting that.

"So I don't think the manager, the players or anything is our problem at the moment, it's just the amount of injuries we get.

"We thought we'd got over that gap, everyone was fit and flying, and we won a load of games and then all of a sudden, game after game, we've picked up more injuries again."

And as one Newcastle United fan so truly put it:

There's plenty still to play for this season but if we don't get behind the team and EVERYONE involved with Newcastle then we may as well forget about it all.

Every TRUE fan owes it to the club to get behind the Manager and the players 110% and stop all this squabbling. It helps NOBODY, neither the manager or the players and certainly not the Club.

We're called Newcastle United not Newcastle Divided. It's time to stand up and be counted, are you for the Club or against it?

On this, Owen added: "If ever you need the fans it's this Saturday. Everyone's trying their hardest, I get in probably earlier than anyone being injured and the manager is there at nine plotting things.

"I leave at about 3:30 and he's still there. Everyone's trying their hardest to turn things around, as I said there are excuses for it and the manager's always been judged on results when everyone's fit, when everyone's fit we'll show everyone we can get results."