Gray misses beauty in ‘ugly win’

ANDRE GRAY put the boot in after the worst day of Rafa Benitez’s time at St James’ Park.

Not that the striker meant to twist the knife following a win that would have been more emphatic had he had his shooting boots on.

Gray wrapped up the win with the third goal but his poor finishing spared woeful Newcastle a hiding.

That may explain his curious assessment of Watford’s best top-flight

NEWCASTLE

away win in 31 years. “Sometimes you’ve got to grind it out and win ugly and that’s what we did,” said Gray to the surprise of those present who had just seen Newcastle blown away.

“It’s a great win considering none of us thought we played that well. If anyone has seen us in recent weeks, they will know we can play a lot better than that.”

So if Watford were bog standard, where does that leave Newcastle?

The answer is on a downward spiral.

Benitez has warned of a struggle ahead, reminding us how illequipped his squad is to cope with the Premier League.

But there is a danger his words could become a self-fulfilling prophecy. A few weeks ago with Newcastle going along nicely, his dose of realism sounded commendable. Now it is almost as if his players want to prove Benitez right.

“There is a lack of experience sometimes,” said Benitez. “After the game I explained what we did wrong.

“You can lose a game through a lack of character or passion but we made mistakes.

“The team have the passion and character to come through this.”