McClaren looking forward to 2016
Steve McClaren is glad to see the back of 2015, which will end with Newcastle United in the relegation zone.
![](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/aUkczqSyPeqvoShq3Uj5z7.jpg)
Newcastle United manager Steve McClaren cannot wait for next year after a poor 2015, which will end with the club in the Premier League relegation zone.
McClaren feels 2015 has been a year to forget for the club and said he was working hard to keep them in the top flight.
"I may seem calm on the surface but, believe me, underneath it I am paddling like mad," he said.
"[The year] is about to end. Good. We cannot wait for next year. The first half of the season has not been good enough. We need to do something about it and we will do.”
Newcastle lost a tight game against West Brom 1-0 on Monday after Darren Fletcher's header slipped under goalkeeper Karl Darlow, who was a late replacement for the ill Rob Elliot.
Elliot reported for training on Wednesday but was promptly sent home by the club's medical staff as he continues to fight a stomach virus, meaning Darlow could be in goals for Newcastle's visit to Arsenal.
"Karl Darlow is a very good keeper and I have every confidence in him," McClaren said.
Get FourFourTwo Newsletter
The best features, fun and footballing quizzes, straight to your inbox every week.
"The goal at West Brom was just one of those things that happen. Rob Elliot is not feeling too good but we are hoping he gets over his stomach bug in the next couple of days and is fit for Saturday."
![Arne Slot head coach of Liverpool during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Manchester City FC at Anfield on December 01, 2024 in Liverpool, England.](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/3xTbkGtr7hRGpxxB4hofcg-840-80.jpg)
‘Slot hasn’t come in and changed everything, making it all about himself – it’s been about the players he’s inherited, getting the best out of a system he likes’: Liverpool manager impressing former players with personality and tactical approach
![LIVERPOOL, ENGLAND - OCTOBER 20: (THE SUN OUT, THE SUN ON SUNDAY OUT) Mohamed Salah of Liverpool celebrating after scoring the opening goal during the Premier League match between Liverpool FC and Chelsea FC at Anfield on October 20, 2024 in Liverpool, England. (Photo by John Powell/Liverpool FC via Getty Images)](https://cdn.mos.cms.futurecdn.net/Y6uSyarD69cTjYZM7M4Z33-840-80.jpg)
‘We thought we’d signed him, but Chelsea blew us away. I think they signed him so we couldn’t have him, as much as because they really wanted him’: Liverpool actually failed to sign Mohamed Salah in 2014, three years before finally getting the Egyptian