Steve McClaren is determined his return to the Premier League will not end in failure. After waiting almost a decade for another chance in the top flight after his sacking by England he hopes to choreograph Newcastle’s first League win of the season at Norwich’s expense on Sunday.

“Once the England job went, getting back to the Premier League has always been my focus,” says the one time Middlesbrough manager. “I’ve joined a club I’ve wanted to manage for the past 15 years but it’s been a long journey back and a tough one. Now I want to make a success of Newcastle United because it can be a huge club.” The England experience – “after it I had dark days, dark moments, dark spells, it was a massive blow to my confidence and belief,” he says – has insulated the 54-year-old against the pressures engendered by Newcastle’s worst start to a season for 117 years: “You never get bigger batterings than when you work with the national team.”

The whole debacle arguably made him a better person. “I used to plan my career and think ‘I want to do this and I want to do that’,” he said. “Now my only focus is making a success of Newcastle. And, as you get older, you want to do it more for other people. When I was younger I wanted to do it for myself. Now I want to see other people happy. I want to see this club back where it should be.”

It helps that Newcastle appear ready to scrap their insistence on recruiting only players aged 25 and under, a policy which has led to a debilitating lack of experience and leadership in the dressing room. “The players we’ve signed already are going to be really good players for us, without a shadow of a doubt,” he says. “But the next window is going to be very important.”

He cautions that patience is called for but remains confident of his board’s loyalty. “You’ve got to say it will take a long time, three transfer windows, to get it right. But everyone here, right from the top, has been terrific. I’ve been impressed with Lee Charnley [the chief executive] from day one in terms of his vision and what he wants for the club.

“Hopefully that first win is just around the corner.”