Anthony Gordon reveals internal “shift” that inspired Newcastle turnaround

Newcastle United star Anthony Gordon has revealed exactly what has changed with the team after we recorded our fourth victory in a row with a 3-0 win against Aston Villa.

Eddie Howe desperately needed to find that winning formula that was so crucial in our run to finishing fourth and reaching a cup final two seasons ago, and in the last four games he’s got everything spot on.

The pressure that was beginning to build regarding his job has disappeared and Newcastle supporters are once again dreaming of a European tour after watching our team rise up the table into fifth. 

Gordon claims Newcastle players have ‘shifted the mindset’

Gordon had previously been one of the players who was underperforming this season, lacking that energy and drive that was so key to our attacks and Howe’s high-pressing style of play.

But since the 4-0 win against Leicester that kickstarted this recent run, the England international has been back to his best, and he claims that there has been an overall ‘mindset shift’ in the team to take these opportunities.

Here’s what Gordon said on the team’s form:

“What has changed? We are not nearly men anymore, we have been winning! It is just a mindset shift. We got to the point where we had drawn the Palace game and should have won, we lost to Brentford quite poorly, then it was a case of asking how long we were going to continue missing these opportunities to get up the table. Everything is so tight.

“It was an impressive win over Villa. When you see that focus like against Villa we win games. We put teams on the back foot and thinking back to our Champions League season, we can score goals like that at any time.

"If we get an early goal teams have to come out and press us and that’s when we can do our stuff. The reaction has been unbelievable. We have got to keep going. On to the next game. Big games. We have to be relentless. Now it is about carrying home performances away from home. We don’t want inconsistency. We can do what we want.

“We started quite slow and missed opportunities. We are picking up form at the right time. Christmas is when the league starts to take shape. We are hitting form at the right time.”

Newcastle can now extend impressive run

Newcastle’s next game is a trip to Old Trafford on Monday, a fixture which traditionally has proved to be very difficult for us. But with no Bruno Fernandes or Manuel Ugarte for the home side, we’re never going to get a better chance to record a victory in Manchester.

After that, we will then travel to the capital to face a struggling Tottenham before taking on Wolves and Bournemouth at home followed by Southampton away, all games that look winnable if we continue this recent form.

Of course, it’s easy to say these things as supporters, but Howe does finally look to have his midfield sorted which had been a major issue for us at the beginning of the season.

Alongside that, fingers crossed we can avoid any serious injuries and there will hopefully be some funds available to improve the squad depth in January.