After finishing in fifth place last season, Newcastle United are struggling with the prospect of relegation this season. The departure of the star striker Demba Ba in the January transfer window has also compounded the problems for the manager Alan Pardew, who recently admitted that the club might have to accept relegation if they do not sign a few players in the January transfer window.
The French winger Gabriel Obertan, though, has expressed his confidence that the team will be able to pull clear of the relegation zone in the forthcoming weeks. Obertan was signed for Manchester United on a £ 5 million deal, but he has so far been a disappointment for the club.
This has been primarily due to the several injury problems he has suffered at Tyneside. The manager recently admitted that he needs the presence of players like Obertan in order to make a difference on the pitch. The French winger will be hoping to be fit on a regular basis in the second half of the season. Newcastle recently suffered three consecutive defeats in the Premier league, which has put them just a few points above the relegation zone. The club only recently experienced relegation a few seasons ago.
“I trust the team – there’s a lot of quality. We only lost Bestie (Leon Best) and (Danny) Guthrie, and Demba (Ba) now. There’s still so much quality in this group. I think we have the quality to come back. I’m not scared. It’s not critical, but we really need some points, and we want to do something in the Europa League as well. We had a great season. We were a surprise, and it was different,” said Obertan. Obertan has managed to make 12 appearances in the Premier league so far, but he has not managed to score yet.
