Gordon sets a fresh goal
MAGPIE’S FITNESS TARGET
ANTHONY GORDON thinks he was not fit enough to play for Newcastle this season and has vowed to be “on it like never before” come August.
The winger, signed for £35million in January after his car was chased out of an Everton game by angry fans, says playing for Eddie Howe’s team of relentless runners left him “absolutely blowing”.
He says that he will use the England Under-21s’ European Championship finals campaign at the end of June to keep his fitness levels high before returning for preseason at St James’ Park in better shape than ever.
Gordon’s admission illustrates the physical turnaround at fourthplaced Newcastle this season.
The 22-year-old got his first goal for his new club in the 1-1 draw at Chelsea on Sunday and said: “I am so happy to get that goal.You could see it in my celebration, all the emotion came out.
“It has been a really difficult year, not just at Newcastle, and it was good to get.
“It has been so difficult just because of the level I was at coming in, the lads here were so much higher.
“I had such an uphill battle to match them and then had the injury.
“It always felt like I was chasing.
“I feel like I had a lot to do and it was hard mentally and physically.
“Now I feel that I have a big summer coming up so I put myself in a really good position for next year. “This summer I have got the Under-21 Euros so physically I am going to be on it like never before because out there I am absolutely blowing!
“In this team you have to be so fit. The gaffer demands so much from the players and that is something I didn’t expect and didn’t know.
“But I know for next season so I will be on it.”
Gordon has shown flashes of his sharpness and vision but was desperate to impress when he joined the club.
He said: “I have been a bit eager to show what I can do. In the process I have underperformed. “I need to forget that and focus on what I am good at, and the basics of football and my talent will show after that.”
Magpies manager Howe said of Gordon: “When I look at him at lunchtimes and when players are socialising and eating together, he’s always in the hub of it. He’s not excluded.
“He’s very much in the core of the group. That’s a great thing for me to see. “He’s settling in really well and I can’t wait to get a pre-season with him.
“That will be a gamechanger for him because we can really get him integrated into our style and system of play. He’s there already but there’s a lot more to come.”