admin
London. — Frustrated Manchester United players held a meeting without manager Erik ten Hag after they were humbled in a 2-0 loss to Newcastle United yesterday, said defender Luke Shaw, who gave a brutally honest assessment of his team.
“I’m not going to go too much into that, but the players had a bit of a chat in the changing room after with no staff around,” the 27-year-old told Sky Sports. “Because it’s down to us players on the pitch, and it was nowhere near good enough. We had to speak out in front of each other.” Newcastle leapfrogged Man United into third in the Premier League standings, and exacted a measure of revenge over their visitors after a 2-0 loss to them in the League Cup final in February.
“We were disappointed with the final,” said Callum Wilson, who along with Joe Willock scored Newcastle’s goals yesterday at St James’ Park. “It left a sour taste in our mouth. We had to put it right in front of our fans.”
They made it right in fine fashion, outmatching their opponents in virtually every position on the pitch.
Meanwhile Graham Potter has been SACKED by Chelsea after less than seven months in charge with Blues languishing in 11th after winning only 12 of his 31 games — despite spending £323MILLION in January
It comes after their dismal 2-0 defeat to Aston Villa on Saturday, with Potter winning just 12 of his 31 games in charge.
Bruno Saltor — who made the switch with Potter from Brighton to be part of his backroom staff at Stamford Bridge — will take charge of the team as interim manager.
A statement on behalf of co-owners Todd Boehly and Behdad Eghbali said: ‘On behalf of everyone at the club, we want to thank Graham sincerely for his contribution to Chelsea.
‘We have the highest degree of respect for Graham as a coach and as a person. He has always conducted himself with professionalism and integrity and we are all disappointed in this outcome. ‘Along with our incredible fans, we will all be getting behind Bruno and the team as we focus on the rest of the season.
‘We have 10 Premier League games remaining and a Champions League quarter final ahead. We will put every effort and commitment into every one of those games so that we can end the season on a high.’
The statement on Chelsea’s website added that Potter ‘agreed to collaborate’ with the club to facilitate a smooth transition, and the Blues thanked the 47-year-old for his efforts and wished him well for the future.
Meanwhile, Brendan Rodgers was SACKED by Leicester after their last-gasp 2-1 defeat at Crystal Palace left the Foxes in the Premier League’s drop zone as his four-year spell comes to a bitter end Brendan Rodgers has left Leicester with the club in grave danger of being relegated from the Premier League. Rodgers departed yesterday following Saturday’s dire display at Crystal Palace, which saw Leicester slip into the bottom three with 10 games remaining and the club announced the following day a ‘mutual agreement’ had been reached with the 50-year-old, who had been in charge since February 2019.
The former Liverpool and Celtic boss leaves with coaches Chris Davies and Glen Driscoll, meaning goalkeeping coach Mike Stowell and first-team coach Adam Sadler will be in charge for Tuesday’s clash with Aston Villa at King Power Stadium.
At Newcastle, Manchester United’s poor performance was tough to stomach, said a visibly angry Shaw, especially coming after the international break. “Not what we wanted. Not what we were expecting. When you come here to a tough stadium and a very good side and you don’t come with the right attitude and hunger it will be a tough day. That showed today. We deserved to lose,” he said. “The whole team had a bit of rest,” Shaw added. “Our levels had dropped, that was clear to see. Coming in today we felt good and ready for the game. The whistle goes and it’s the complete opposite to what we’ve been doing in training. Unacceptable.”
The defeat means Manchester United are fourth in the standings, only a point ahead of Tottenham Hotspur in the race to seal a spot in next season’s Champions League. Newcastle simply wanted it more, Ten Hag said. — mailonline.
Online Reporter