Mackems Given A Helping Hand!
Last updated : 17 September 2007 By Footy Mad - Editor
We saw the entire team on a whistle-stop tour of Durham City at 11.45am on Saturday morning, visiting the cathedral and castle!
Let's face it, Durham city is tough nut to climb at the best of times, and a mate from Scotland once said to me: "you have to be a bloody Sherpa to live in this place, it's like climbing Everest'!
Perhaps Steve Coppell is an avid historian, or perhaps the beauty of the place had the Reading players spellbound ... but do other Premiership clubs tour a city before a match?
I remember travelling with the Newcastle players for a couple of matches in the Anglo-Italian cup in Italy and we were given a tour of Pisa and Bari AFTER the games.
Whatever the preparation, Sunderland boss Roy Keane was happy to pick up the points.
Twelve new faces arrived at the Stadium of Light this summer in a £35million-plus spending spree.
Keane: "I tend to focus on the performances. Obviously, the performances against Wigan and Luton were nowhere near what we hoped for, but against Birmingham and Tottenham, Liverpool and Manchester United, I don't think they were that bad.
"Of course, you are ultimately judged on your results, but I am maybe the opposite of that, I always tend to focus first and foremost on the performance.
"That was important, that the players showed that confidence and belief - and remember, I do believe it takes seven or eight games before teams are even up and running.
"We have a lot of new players, we have injuries, so we shouldn't be expecting too much, too soon.
"We have to be patient, but of course, most football fans are impatient.
"I'm not saying I'm the most patient person in the world, but that's something I have got to learn, that it takes a bit of time to try to gel and build a team, and any manager will tell you that."