McClaren bans swearing at Newcastle training

In his comments at the Fans Forum, Steve McClaren talked about bringing a discipline to the locker room and an insistence that things be "done the right way".  According to Preferred Media Partner The Mirror™, the changes aren't limited to on-pitch ideas.  According to Simon Bird:

Steve McClaren has banned Newcastle players from swearing.

Newcastle have had plenty to curse about in recent seasons, but the players won’t be turning the air blue this season.

The F-word and worse are now off-limits, even at times of frustration, for players and staff.

He goes on to say that McClaren has banned phones at work (which is completely alright by me) and also tells of two players who were sent home from the first day of training for showing up 5 minutes late (which I am again completely alright with).  These latter two items are great and if the professionalism and discipline follow thanks to enacting these policies, the club can only benefit.  On the matter of controlling language?  I'm not sure that stopping players from swearing is going to make them more professional or perform better on the pitch.

It may be the hope that if players can internalize something that goes counter to instinct then it will clear pathways for other behavior modifications.  There are probably theories and studies out there that suggest this is possible.  In the general scheme of things, it almost feels like the next step is banning condiments as a certain manager of a certain club "down the road" did during his brief but incendiary time with the Makems.

Long term, we will see if these rules will have the positive influence on the club that McClaren hopes they will.  It could just as easily be the first step down a road that could lead to a lost dressing room.