Davide Santon remains upbeat about Newcastle’s chances of beating Tottenham even though all the signs point to another disappointing evening for the Toon Army
Without a Premier League goal since last month’s 3-1 victory at West Ham United, Newcastle will once again be without the suspended Loic Remy on Wednesday, while Cheick Tiote and Mathieu Debuchy remain sidelined with injuries.
The 5-1 thrashing of Stoke City on Boxing Day now seems a distant memory as, since that result, United have been knocked out of the FA Cup by Cardiff City and have lost five of their last seven Premier League fixtures.
To add to the malaise currently surrounding St James’ Park, the catastrophic transfer window which saw Yohan Cabaye leave Tyneside while no replacement was bought, has not helped, while the confusion that so often envelops the club has continued with the unexpected departures of Joe Kinnear and reserve team boss Willie Donachie.
Despite such a poor sequence of results, football betting suggests Newcastle are still very likely to secure a top-half finish this season, but already the warning signs are there that the 2014-15 campaign could be a struggle.
Santon is undeterred though. The 23-year-old Italian, who is closing in on 100 first-team appearances for the club following his £5million transfer from Inter Milan in the summer of 2011, said: “If everybody works together and the fans help us, we are going to get a good result against Tottenham.
“I think it was better from everybody against Chelsea compared to the Sunderland performance. But Stamford Bridge is always a difficult place to come and get a result.”
If you want a bet on football, Spurs appear to be worth looking at to secure a top-four finish after beating Everton on Sunday.
