Newcastle United full back Javier Manquillo has spoken to NUFC TV about what went wrong at the Amex, the first player to do so since Ryan Fraser addressed them immediately after the match.
In his interview he spoke of how it was a missed opportunity and how low the dressing room felt in the wake of the defeat. He told NUFC TV:
“Nothing went right on the night because we knew it was a really big opportunity to gain a boost in confidence and to move forward.
“Obviously the atmosphere after missing out on that opportunity and losing 3-0, well it was tough to take and everybody realised that.
The Spaniard also commented on how the international break had come at a good time for the side.
“I think that this break came at the right time for us because after such a tough defeat we needed to draw a line under it and have a turning point.
“We now need to put it out of our minds and focus on those next nine games ahead and doing as well as we can because we are convinced results will come if we perform well.
“It was a painful defeat so after the game was doom and gloom.”
This is good to hear from a fans perspective as it shows that the players and a defeat like Brighton could prove to be a turning point like Manquillo says. By the sounds of it some much needed home truths may have been told.
Also, it is nice to hear that they are still somewhat confident of getting the club out the mess we are in.
Unfortunately rallying calls like this happen far too often to take too much note of what has been said by the full back. Just look back to the last relegation season when Steve McClaren was the manager and it seemed that these sort of statements were ten a penny.
Actions speak louder than words and a good performance is absolutely vital against Spurs on Sunday.