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Steve McClaren says he should have been firmer at Newcastle

Steve McClaren
Image: Steve McClaren was unable to turn Newcastle fortunes around

Steve McClaren has conceded he failed at Newcastle because he was not assertive enough during his time at St James' Park.

The former England boss was dismissed in March after steering the Magpies to just six wins in 28 Premier League games - a run of form which ultimately cost them their top-flight status.

McClaren also reckons too many Newcastle players could only raise their game for certain fixtures.

And McClaren insists it is imperative his successor Rafael Benitez is given more control as the Spaniard attempts to take Newcastle up from the Championship at the first attempt.

"I'm frustrated with my time at Newcastle and especially with the way it ended," McClaren told BBC Radio 5 Live.

"I went in with my eyes open and I knew the situation I was getting myself into, but the mistake I made was that I compromised too much.

BIRMINGHAM, ENGLAND - MAY 07:  Newcastle player Andros Townsend reacts after the Barclays Premier
Image: Newcastle player Andros Townsend reacts after the team's relegation was confirmed

"You have to go in and lead and manage. I compromised too much especially early on, instead of saying, 'we need this, we need this, we need this'.

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"They've gone down because we conceded too many goals and didn't recruit centre-backs, and we didn't recruit enough strikers, we had injuries and bad luck and the main thing is the mentality.

"The mentality of the team was that they would play well against top teams, but they couldn't win the games they should have won against the lower teams."

While McClaren insisted he retained a say in the players brought into the club during his spell in charge, but described the policy of only signing players under the age of 25 as a mistake.

Rafael Benitez
Image: Rafael Benitez is hoping to take Newcastle back to the Premier League at the first attempt

And he said he believed the club's hierarchy will have learned from their mistakes and will afford Benitez the opportunity to assume total control of the playing side.

McClaren said: "They've decided to go with Rafa Benitez and I hope they've allowed him control of everything - most importantly he can control recruitment and maybe change the policy of the time which was only recruiting players under 25 and I think that restricted the recruitment process.

"You need experience and that wasn't possible, and I think with Rafa being in there he will be allowed to take control."

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