As much as the club would like to issue another ‘nothing to see here’-style statement on the future of their embattled head coach, they had better have a coherent message on McClaren’s future and where the club go next on Monday.
I think they will. The likely eventuality is that we’ll have a sort-of vote of confidence in McClaren from the Newcastle board – and they might even emphasise that the United boss is the man who will finish the season in charge.
The alternative is that it’ll be swept under the carpet and the question will be deemed irrelevant. But it’d be difficult to do that given Newcastle’s perilous position, the big financial outlay in January and the summer and the fact that the season has been far from a success whichever way it goes from here.
Charnley doesn’t say much in public but he’s relatively open in Fans Forums (although no media are allowed into them, of course). Even if he says nothing on McClaren, there will be a message there.