Magpies’ Cisse eager to lose his wings

LONDON: Newcastle United striker Papiss Cisse has called on manager Alan Pardew to allow him to play in his preferred central role as he seeks a return to the prolific form he showed in his early days at St James’ Park.

The Senegal international spent the first half of the 2012-13 season playing wide on the right in order to accommodate Demba Ba in the centre and even when Ba left for Chelsea in January, Cisse’s goal return did not improve.

It was a trying situation for a player who had scored 13 times in his first 14 Newcastle appearances, and the 28-year-old says he hopes to be deployed as a number nine again next season.

“I hope to play in my best position as much as I can. My best position is striker,” he told local newspaper The Chronicle.

“I had never played right wing in my life. It was my first time at Newcastle. It was OK because I was doing it for the team.

“It was difficult last year because we were fighting not to go down. The year before, all of the players enjoyed the games and couldn’t wait for the next one. We tried our best, but we hopefully will have all of our players back, not too many injuries.

“We have a good squad. I enjoy playing for this team. Next season, we will challenge. We have Hatem Ben Arfa, (Moussa) Sissoko and Yohan Cabaye, and the team can challenge at the higher end of the table.” – AFP