Wijnaldum: McClaren is the best we can get right now

Newcastle United star Georginio Wijnaldum has advised his club to keep faith in manager Steve McClaren despite a difficult season.

Sunday’s 2-0 home win over Liverpool, in which the Netherlands international scored his seventh goal of the season, was only their third win in 15 Premier League games.

But Wijnaldum, 25, feels the club cannot find a better boss than McClaren given their current standing.

“For this club, he is the best we can get right now,” the midfielder told The Daily Star.

“I hope the club will give him the faith and keep him here. That is the thing in football. When results go wrong, everyone says the trainer is responsible for that. It is not fair every time.

“I didn’t know there was talk about his future but against Liverpool, we fought hard both for him and the team.”

Wijnaldum also confirmed there had been frank and tense discussions within the Newcastle squad prior to the Liverpool victory.

He continued: “If you want to go further and climb the table, you have to be honest with each other. Sometimes, it can be hard to be honest but it had to be done.”

Newcastle, who sit 18th in the table, are back in action with a tough trip to play Tottenham at White Hart Lane on Sunday.