HAYDEN: THERE’S WORK TO BE DONE TO GET SAFE
WEST HAM 2 NEWCASTLE UNITED 0
Isaac Hayden says the job’s far from done at Newcastle United.
Rafa Benitez’s side were beaten 2-0 by West Ham United on Saturday.
And the result left the club 14th in the Premier League table, and six points above the Premier League’s relegation zone, ahead of Saturday’s game against Everton at St James’s Park.
The defeat followed a run of four home wins which had eased relegation fears.
Newcastle were undone by defensive errors at the London Stadium, where Declan Rice and Mark Noble were on target Manuel Pellegrini’s team.
Hayden felt that the result was a timely “reminder” to the team of the work in front of them.
“It’s a sharp reminder for us that there’s still a lot of work to be done,” said the midfielder.
“I don’t think going into the game the lads thought we were safe and finished or anything like that, I just think that West Ham were better. They were difficult to handle, (Felipe) Anderson and (Manuel) Lanzini were the difference for them.
“On the counter-attack, their pace was very, very good, but sometimes that can happen in games.
“It wasn’t like we’d suddenly turned into Manchester City and were going to win every game between now and the end of the season.
“It was always going to happen at some stage. The frustrating thing is just the manner in which it happened.
“The fashion we let the goals in meant that West Ham were 2-0 up before half time by really doing nothing. That’s the frustrating part.
“That was very disappointing, particularly after the run we’ve been on. It was two very sloppy goals.
“The set-piece (from Rice) was just a simple header, just blocking off and tracking runners, and the penalty (from Noble) was another block at the back post and then it’s 2-0.
“In Premier League games, when you’re 2-0 down before half-time, it’s always an uphill battle. We dug in second half and didn’t give up, the lads kept trying, it’s just that the final ball wasn’t there.
“We’ve been on a fabulous run of form, there have been a lot of games since Christmas and January and maybe we just ran out of steam after a long and busy week, but there are no excuses.”
The bottom two clubs – Huddersfield Town and Fulham – look doomed, and a dozen or more teams are scrambling to avoid the last relegation place, which is occupied by Cardiff City.
West Ham: Fabianski, Fredericks, Diop, Ogbonna, Cresswell (Masuaku 34), Rice, Snodgrass, Noble (Obiang 79), Lanzini, Felipe Anderson, Hernandez (Arnautovic 70). Subs Not Used: Adrian, Nasri, Lucas Perez, Antonio. Booked: Noble, Masuaku, Diop. Goals: Rice 7, Noble 42 pen.
Newcastle: Dubravka, Manquillo, Schar (Dummett 65), Lascelles, Lejeune, Ritchie, Perez, Longstaff (Diame 46), Hayden (Atsu 79), Almiron, Rondon. Subs Not Used: Ki, Muto, Yedlin, Darlow. Booked: Schar, Longstaff, Hayden, Dubravka.
Ref: Chris Kavanagh (Lancashire).