DANNY Simpson believes Newcastle United received a welcome wake-up call from Queens Park Rangers after admitting the Magpies cannot take anything for granted in the Championship.
United tore Ipswich Town to shreds in a 4-0 away win last weekend, but were swiftly reminded this division has a habit of throwing up surprises when QPR came close to snatching a shock victory at St James’s Park just four days later.
And, while Newcastle are three points clear at the top of the table with another home game against Bristol City tomorrow, Simpson knows there cannot be a repeat of the insipid performance which soured Wednesday night.
“It was definitely a wake up call for us,” said Simpson, whose cross led to Marlon Harewood’s second half equaliser. “After Blackpool we’ve got a lot of good results, but fair play to QPR – they gave it a go and came at us.
“It was a shock to go one-nil down and we weren’t good enough. In this league we have a bit to spare though – and the character to get out of situations like that.
“I’m not sure whether we were complacent. They just started well and with a goal like that – it was a deflection and there was nothing Harps could do. It was just unlucky. Then we miss a penalty.
“At half-time Chris reminded us that teams will come to St James’s Park and have a go – it’s up to us to rise to the occasion. We can’t go into games thinking we’re going to be able to roll teams over just because we’re Newcastle United.”
Whether it was complacency or lethargy, Newcastle were worryingly sluggish for much of the QPR game and while their squad remains strong on paper, nobody should need to be reminded after last season’s disasters that reputations count for nothing.
Thankfully, although disappointed with their performance, Simpson feels there was still positives to take from the game, particularly as West Bromwich Albion and Middlesbrough both lost in mid-week.
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