IT’S A BIG weekend for Newcastle and Ireland goalkeeper Rob Elliot, who is preparing to make his first Premier League start of the season against Norwich this weekend.

Injuries to the Magpies’ other goalkeepers Tim Krul and Karl Darlow mean Elliot is set to get an opportunity at a run in the team.

Elliot was in Ireland’s squad recently for the game against Poland, but the 29-year-old Greenwich-born stopper has struggled to establish himself in the Newcastle first team in recent years.

McClaren recently watched Elliot in the reserves, and ahead of the game on Sunday, the Newcastle boss revealed he rejected a loan offer for the Ireland international.

“He’s in as good a condition as you can be without actually playing,” McClaren told reporters. “He missed pre-season but he’s certainly trained well in the last few weeks.

“Even before Karl Darlow got injured there was a possibility of sending him away on loan.

“But I said: ‘No keep him here’.

“We like him and he’s very good in training, now he has to produce in games.”

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