Sam Allardyce has stated that the Newcastle United players are thinking ‘where are they going to book their holidays’ after getting thrashed 5-1 over the weekend.
The former Premier League boss labelled Newcastle an ’embarrassment’ for the manner in which they performed at Tottenham.
It’s perhaps not the defeat that would have annoyed the Toon Army faithful, but the manner of collapse.
Not only did Eddie Howe’s side take the lead, but they also went into the half-time break level and battling with the Champions League-chasing team.
But, in the second half, Newcastle rolled back time and paid homage to Steve Brue with a performance worthy of being included in the Mike Ashley era, as Allardyce wasn’t impressed on talkSPORT.
“They think they are safe,” said Allardyce. “They have switched off. Gone about where are they going to book their holidays now and I think that’s really bad.
“We are talking about recruitment. The business they have done in January has saved the football club.
“That’s new players coming in, the manager handling them, getting them to play better and going on an unbeaten run. But they switched off against Tottenham.
“It’s the manager’s job to put them on track and give them the biggest telling off since he has been here. It’s an embarrassment that.”
It’s perhaps a reality check that Newcastle needed and one that they need to get out of their system, as soon as possible.
Whilst the Magpies probably need one, or at best, two more wins to all but confirm their survival, these performances simply can’t continue during these coming weeks.
In truth, the performances from the Newcastle players, since the turn of the year, have been outstanding.
It’s just of late they have started to slip-up and mould back to their oldselves that saw them produce abject display after abject display under Ashley’s reign.
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