Alan Pardew warns Newcastle to beware of Reading's gamesmanship

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2013/jan/18/alan-pardew-newcastle-reading-gamesmanship

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Alan Pardew has warned his Newcastle United players that Reading's Russian striker Pavel Pogrebnyak is in the Luis Suárez class when it comes to gamesmanship and diving.

As he prepared for Saturday's match against Brian McDermott's side at St James' Park, Pardew was anxious to highlight Pogrebnyak's potential for inflicting further misery on a 16th-placed Newcastle team separated from the bottom three by only two points. Languishing in 19th, three places and five points beneath their hosts on Saturday, Reading are even worse off but have improved recently and Pardew is not taking them lightly.

"This is a battling side we're playing," he said. "They're great at set plays – the striker Pogrebnyak, he falls over. He's one of the worst players I've seen for falling over and buying free-kicks, so we have got to be clever. We need to make sure we put up with that, defend set plays and win the game."

While Pardew has acknowledged that Newcastle are in real peril of relegation, Shola Ameobi, his veteran striker, sees few similarities between now and the last time the Tynesiders fell into the Championship, in 2009.

"It's definitely not the same at all," said Ameobi. "Back then there was a lot of discord. Last time I remember thinking there were a lot of players who didn't really want to be here and that does not bode well for any team. Certainly the players we have here now have a better character and better temperament and hopefully that can really help us."

Although personal difficulties dictate that Fabricio Coloccini, Newcastle's captain, does want to leave for Argentina this month, the centre-half – whose future may be determined at a meeting on Monday – remains a committed figure on the pitch.

"I know the people who are here now want to play for the club but that wasn't the case before," said Ameobi. "When we lose games I can see that everyone in this squad is hurting. You can see it in their faces. It's tough because when we have had some decent performances we have been in the changing room for about half an hour after the game discussing it because we care. It means so much to the players.

"Four years ago it wasn't like that. Many of them knew they would be leaving at the end of the season. After losing games they'd be smiling again within a few minutes. This season you can see that every single player in the dressing room wants to really help this club. We are all still together and right behind the manager."

Even though they could not have foreseen the injury crisis which has wrecked Newcastle's season, both Ameobi and Pardew long feared it would be difficult to repeat last season's fifth-place finish without strengthening the squad.

"I always felt this was going to be a tough season," said Ameobi. "Teams now know us better and being in the Europa League puts a lot more strain on a squad. I think playing in Europe has been a really big part of why we've struggled. We're asking young players to do things they're not experienced enough to do and I think that's always going to hurt a team when you have players out, especially when you do not have that big a squad."