Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton pleased with Xisco's pre-season form

Magpies boss impressed with Spaniard's perfomance

1 Aug 2010 21:34:00

By Ben Sibley

More On :  Manchester United, Newcastle United, Xisco, Tom Cleverley, Chris Hughton
Chris Hughton, Newcastle United(Getty Images)

Newcastle United manager Chris Hughton has declared himself pleased with striker Xisco’s form during the club’s pre-season preparations.

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Since joining the club from Deportivo la Coruna in September 2008, the 24-year-old forward has struggled to establish himself within the Newcastle set up and spent last season on loan at La Liga side Racing Santander.

After a disappointing season in Spain which yielded just three goals in 23 games, Xisco reported back for pre-season training with the hope of convincing the club’s management he was worth a place in the first-team.

Thus far, it appears Hughton has every intention of giving the forward a second chance.

“Xisco has been good in pre-season," Hughton said, according to The Mail.

"We have six strikers who have all been fit in pre-season so it's been a case of shifting them around to give them the minutes they need.”

“The difficulty for him is he's playing in a position where we have a lot of options. All he can do is to force the decision. He can put himself in a position to perform and train well.

“He's older now. When he came it was a difficult period for him and the other players. Sometimes the experiences of a foreign player coming here with other strikers in front of you, you don't get a real rhythm.”

The Toon boss also admitted the club was doing all it could to add to the squad after being linked to Manchester United starlet Tom Cleverley earlier this week.

He added: “It would be nice to get more players in over the next couple of weeks.

"Can I guarantee anything? Of course I can't, but we're working very hard on it.”

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