Steven Pressley has hit back over criticism of his handling of Newcastle United’s on-loan striker Elias Sorensen.
The under-pressure Carlisle United boss claims the Premier League outfit are happy with Sorensen’s development at Brunton Park.
Sorensen arrived in Cumbria on a season-long loan in the summer, but he’s failed to score and only started one league game in a frustrating spell for the youngster.
The twenty-year-old has been used mainly as a substitute, prompting speculation the Magpies might recall him early, but Pressley dismissed such speculation when he spoke to the press ahead of Carlisle’s crucial game with high-flying Crewe tomorrow.
Speaking to the Shields Gazette, he said: ‘We are treating him well. When it comes to the game time, of course, they will be disappointed. They have sent a player out who wants to play. ‘They want him to play, but they’re happy with the additional work he is doing.’
Pressley said he was in regular contact with Shola Ameobi, Newcastle’s loan manager, to update him on Sorensen’s development and added: ‘It is part of my job to shape them, and even if he doesn’t get the minutes he wants, the club will be getting back a more formed player.’
‘They are happy with how we are going.’
Pressley will be hoping his side notch their third home league win of the season against an in-form Crewe side to ease the pressure on his side. The Cumbrians currently sit eighteenth in the League Two table having scored only thirteen goals in twelve games. They’ve conceded nineteen, and another defeat would see them slip further into relegation trouble.
Our View
Carlisle’s lack of goals makes the treatment of Sorensen all the more baffling.
Some Newcastle fans have questioned the youngster’s attitude in the past and just because he’s at a Premier League club he doesn’t have a divine right to play, but given Carlisle’s plight surely he is worth a go?
Given Pressley’s comments, it appears he’s a long way from starting, which is a shame for the youngster and Blues fans desperate for something to spark their season.
This story rumbles on, but we wouldn’t be surprised to see the youngster head back to Newcastle in January.
