By Kev Luff
March 2 2006

Newcastle United shot stopper Shay Given has praised Glenn Roeder for making his job easier. Being a Newcastle United keeper is far from easy with the defence often going AWOL in front of you, however Roeder has gone back to basics with his defence since taking over ...

... and the Magpies are a lot more solid at the back. Given was on international duty last night as Ireland beat Sweden 3-0 but paid tribute to his manager for improving the club’s defensive record.

“We defended exceptionally well against Everton and sometimes it’s up to us to enjoy defending when it is difficult out there,” said Given. “We stuck together as a team, and showed a lot of fighting spirit. We enjoyed defending, and we enjoyed keeping another clean sheet. It’s very pleasing. Glenn’s done some work on the back four, and it’s reaping its rewards.”

Roeder has selection problems at the back for the game against Everton. The caretaker boss only had four fit defenders to call upon with Titus Bramble joining Steven Taylor and Stephen Carr on the injury list. The selection is likely to be the same this weekend for the game against Bolton Wanderers. The Trotters will be a difficult test for Newcastle but Given says the team is confident.

“In an ideal world, you’d like a settled back four, but it’s not always an ideal world here,” said Given. “We’re struggling a little bit for defenders, but everyone did really well against Everton. Titus hurt his hamstring against Charlton, and Robbie Elliott’s come in and filled in at centre-back. He did very well. The first game we had under Glenn was Portsmouth at home, and it was a six-pointer. Now we’re looking up the table and trying to catch the teams above us. We’ve got another home game on Saturday. Hopefully everyone away on international duty will stay clear of injury. It’s going to be difficult, but if we can get three points on Saturday, it’ll be looking good. It’s not going to be an easy game, but the confidence is high in our team now.”

Source: NorthEastFootball.co.uk

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