Newcastle FC suffered their worst Premier League defeat in 87 years at the weekend after going down 6-0 at St James’ Park, against a Liverpool side inspired by the absence of their controversial striker Luis Suarez. Newcastle’s poor run of form in April have seen them lose in front of the St James’ faithful twice, to rivals Sunderland and now Liverpool, coupled with the away draw to West Brom; Alan Pardew’s men must have thought they were safe after the victory over Fulham had them move up to 13th.
One player so familiar with surprise relegation is Shola Ameobi after his Newcastle side was the surprise team relegated in 2009, having spent 16 years in the top flight.
Ameobi admits Newcastle players fear the drop- because no club is good enough to go down.
“The players are worried. It’s never nice to lose like that. The next three games, we can use this to spark us and give us a kick up the backside, if you like. Nobody is too good to go down, as we found out last time.
“I’m sure the players understand that and that’s what the manager will be impressing on us this week. In the coming week it’s about how talented a team you are, it’s about how much you want it on the day.”
After the 6-0 defeat in the hands of Liverpool, Ameobi accepts it was a bad day for him and team- mates.
“We were all disappointed and there is a sense we did not do our jobs. If someone comes to your home patch and does that to you it is never a nice feeling,” Ameobi added.
After the recent poor run of form, boss Alan Pardew also believe some of his players were wrong to have thought they were safe.
“Now we’re in a dogfight, and we’ve got to fight,” Alan Pardew said. “We’ve got enough character and belief in the dressing room to get through it. We’ve got to show that now.”
Newcastle currently sits in the 17th position; five points clear of Wigan in the 18th having played one match less than the Toons. However, Shola Ameobi and team- mates will have to bounce back from the 6-0 loss to Liverpool, if they hope to avoid the 2009 experience.
