Danny loves being centre of attention
DANNY Guthrie is determined not to become a victim of his own versatility at Newcastle United.
The midfielder has found games in his favoured central midfield berth hard to come by this season because of the form of captain Alan Smith and Kevin Nolan.
However, Guthrie has made a strong case for a regular start there with his last three performances in the position alongside leading scorer Nolan on home turf.
United won all three fixtures, against Cardiff, Coventry and Barnsley, convincingly, and the 22-year-old scored twice in that sequence to take his tally to five goals.
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Guthrie is set for another start in the middle tomorrow with Smith struggling with the ankle problem which kept him out last weekend.
And the former Liverpool man doesn't want his versatility to stand in the way of more starts in his preferred position.
"Sometimes it's a strength, and sometimes it can work against you if you're good enough to play in a few positions," Guthrie told the Gazette.
"In time, I want to nail down a centre spot, and play there week in, week out."
Joey Barton's imminent return will further intensify competition in midfield, and Guthrie went on: "The competition can only help the team.
"Joey's a good player, and it'll be a big boost to have a player like him in the squad. We're looking forward to him coming back, and it'll give the manager another option as well."
United claimed a 2-1 win over Watford in their last fixture away from home, but Guthrie knows the Tees-Tyne derby could prove their toughest away trip yet.
"We're coming off a good away win – it had been a while since we'd had one – so we're looking to continue that run," added Guthrie.
"They've started to make a push for the play-offs. They're the closest team to us in this league, so it's going to be a difficult game, as we found out earlier this season at home.
"They're always high-tempo and sometimes scrappy games, so we'll have to up our own game. If need be, we'll have to dig it out."
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Weather for South Shields
Saturday 11 February 2012
Today
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 4 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: South west
Tomorrow
Cloudy
Temperature: 2 C to 6 C
Wind Speed: 8 mph
Wind direction: North west
