Wijnaldum: ‘Two goals in five games is not enough’

Georginio Wijnaldum: Says Newcastle have to be better

Georginio Wijnaldum: Says Newcastle have to be better

Georginio Wijnaldum says Newcastle have “to go back to the way we were playing” after admitting they have not been creating enough goalscoring chances.

Since an opening-day 2-2 draw with Southampton, Steve McClaren’s men have picked up just a point and are currently bottom of the Premier League table. But what is more worrying for the Magpies is that they have failed to score in the league since the St James’ Park draw with Saints. And Monday’s display in the 2-0 defeat at West Ham, despite dominating possession, was largely devoid of any attacking inspiration.

“It seems like a long time ago [that we scored], because it was a long time ago,” Wijnaldum told The Chronicle.

“We have to fight hard and make more goals and chances. If we don’t start doing this we can’t win games.

“In the final third we know we have to create more because two goals in five games is not a lot.

“We created a few [chances at West Ham], but compared to previous games we know we need to create more. We didn’t score and from the first half that is the only thing we were disappointed about.

“The second half was not good overall. We began the second half by conceding a goal. After that we didn’t do enough to fix it.”

Wijnaldum accepts the Upton Park defeat was an “off day” and wants his team-mates to rediscover the spirit they showed to draw at Manchester United and push Arsenal hard despite being reduced to 10 man early on.

“We have to go back to the way we were playing,” Wijnaldum added.

“It was an off day [against West Ham]. The good thing with the Premier League is that there are so many games.

“You can quickly show how good you are.”