Newcastle United will be hoping to continue their good run of form after the international break.
Newcastle United winger Matt Ritchie has admitted that players can become ‘distracted’ by takeover talks because it is so ‘intense’ at the club.
Earlier this month, the Independent reported that owner Mike Ashley has drawn a line over the latest takeover saga, but the North East outfit still remains up for sale.
Just like last season, talk of potential buyers purchasing Newcastle have constantly made the headlines, but nothing has materialised in the end as the club still remains in the hands of the controversial retail businessman.
Speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT (18/03/2019 at 12:45 pm), Ritchie admitted for him talk of potential new buyers has not been on his mind but it can cause a distraction for the players.
“Not my mind really [on takeover talks],” Ritchie told talkSPORT. “You have to focus on what you can effect. You can’t affect anything that happens above you that’s down to the owners, the board or whoever is in charge.
“For players, I think you can get distracted with it all, especially at Newcastle because it’s so intense, but you have to focus on the football and that’s what we have done. Hopefully, we can reach our goals by staying in the Premier League.”
After a poor start to the season, and a number of poor spells in between, things have begun to pick up for Rafa Benitez and his side.
During their recent Premier League encounter, they recorded a 2-2 draw at Eddie Howe’s Bournemouth, with Ritchie netting a sublime volley in the dying moments of the game to rescue a point for his team.
As a result, in the Magpies last five matches, they have recorded 10 points and they go into the international break high on confidence and in a rich vein of form.
In terms of their league position, they are sitting in 13th place, seven points ahead of the drop zone as another win or maybe two, depending on other results, will ensure their safety in England’s top-flight for another season.
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