Glenn Roeder: "We need Nicky Butt to bring all his European experience with England, Manchester United and now Newcastle United with us. He is suspended for Sunday's game with Charlton Athletic at The Valley and I am looking for another big game from him against AZ.No Passengers For The Toon UEFA Cup Bus
Glenn Roeder: "We need Nicky Butt to bring all his European experience with England, Manchester United and now Newcastle United with us. He is suspended for Sunday's game with Charlton Athletic at The Valley and I am looking for another big game from him against AZ."Having said that, we know that we must not carry any passengers and hopefully we will not. We have got to get after AZ all over the pitch because we do not want them controlling the game with eight or nine passes.
"But for me, the crux of the game is for us to gain control in midfield through Nicky Butt and Scott Parker which, to be fair, they did for the majority of the game at St James' Park last Thursday night.
"We have got to stay tight and compact and make it hard for AZ to play through us.
"It is not just Nicky Butt. We have a lot of experienced players at both international and club level in our squad in the likes of Damien Duff, Shay Given, Scott Parker, Oba Martins and Kieron Dyer.
"As things stand before the game, we do not have to score - and hopefully in the course of the game, we will not have to."