WITH meticulous notes tucked firmly under his arm regularly this summer, Steve McClaren has outlined a determination to leave no stone unturned in his bid to lead brighter times back to Newcastle United.

Since leaving his dream job as England boss in 2007, managing a Premier League club with a huge support has been a target of his and the opportunity at St James’ Park has presented him with just that. He does not want to fail.

McClaren wanted to bring freshness and he has done that. He has introduced a whole new backroom team with Ian Cathro, Paul Simpson, Alessandro Schoenmaker, Steve Black and now Steve Smith all providing a different approach. It was needed after the frustrations of last season, when John Carver failed to revive a team slipping towards the Championship trapdoor.

Now McClaren must make the most of the new start. Fans will allow a little more time for him to turn things around, particularly after examples of exciting spending from inside the boardroom on some highly-rated talents, but he knows the importance of a good start.

He said: “The attitudes have been fantastic from the players, the staff and the organisation which has gone in to this pre-season in terms of the recovery, the massage, the treatment, everything has been organised down to the last minute.

“The players have been good with that too. It was a tough period because we have had a hard period due to the moving around and the travelling. We have had a lot to deal with.

“But we have tried to do the work we needed to do while we were out there and we have ensured we got the recovery we needed. Since America we have had to look closely to make sure we have had everything right.”

McClaren is the first to admit that a pre-season tour to the far side of the United States was not the ideal preparation for his first season in charge as Newcastle boss. He is not going to be looking to use that as an excuse for too long, though, after being backed with two of his top targets in Georginio Wijnaldum and Aleksandar Mitrovic.

Those two players cost a combined £26.5m and, with a couple more signings hopefully before the end of the transfer window, McClaren is not going to be settling for the top ten finish which has been the target of Newcastle in recent years.

McClaren said: “Lee Charnley and Graham Carr have done a great job behind the scenes in getting the players we have wanted. We have talked a lot about being patient and we have had to be at times.

“This is not just a club that just wants to stay in the Premier League. The objectives are now about top eight and trying to win something. We have sold that to the present squad, we have said it already.

“We have loftier ambitions, and cup competitions are in our thinking. I know cups quite well (having won the Carling Cup in 2004 and a league title at Twente) and I like cups. Anyone can get to a semi-final or a final, if you get the right kind of draw.

“Being able to sell that to a player, no problem; selling the stadium? No problem; and the crowd? No problem. The players want all of those things and this is what this club wants too.”

Now, with his first Premier League fixture as head coach just hours away, McClaren is ready to roll and the prospect of becoming the only Newcastle boss since 1955 to win a major domestic trophy is driving him on.