Kieran Trippier’s message to teammates after Aston Villa hammering

Kieran Trippier was refreshingly honest in his verdict of Newcastle’s hammering at the hands of Aston Villa as he urged the squad to refocus ahead of our home tie against Ipswich next Saturday.

Newcastle must find their form again immediately if they are serious about their Champions League ambitions with just two points now separating them from Villa in sixth, and Jason Tindall’s Mags couldn’t ask for a much better fixture than the Tractor Boys to bounce back.

Villa were quite simply the better side as they despatched of Newcastle with relative ease as a commanding second half performance from Unai Emery’s side offered the Toon little way back into the game as they succumbed to a 4-1 defeat.

“Focus on the next” - Trippier message after Villa humbling

Newcastle must dust themselves and prepare to go again as their six-game winning run came to an emphatic end against a comfortable Aston Villa.

There were no excuses from veteran defender Trippier, who admitted that Villa deserved the victory as the competition for Champions League qualification became even tighter with just two points between third and seventh should Chelsea beat Fulham on Sunday

Speaking to Sky Sports, Trippier said: “They scored straight away but a good reaction from us in the first half. Full credit to Villa, they are a top side with a top manager. They played very well and are a strong team.

“You go into every game to win. Today we were confident but Villa played very well and they deserved their victory.

“We can’t use that as an excuse. The manager picks the eleven, we’ve been unchanged and that’s it. We focus on the next game and that’s against Ipswich.

“We want to qualify for the Champions League. Today was a setback but we’ve got a full week to recover and analyse where we went through today.

“You come into games like this against teams like this and it’s a bit of a reality check maybe.”

Newcastle still masters of own fate

Villa outclassed Newcastle on their home turf to stretch their unbeaten Prem run at Villa Park to 16 games and edge ever so close to the Mags in the fighting pack.

However, we still are ultimately in control of our own destiny while we sit in third. It would be an unrealistic expectation to win all of our remaining five games with tough clashes with Chelsea, Arsenal, and Brighton still to come.

If we manage to pick up the maximum 15 points then we guarantee Champions League football at St. James’ Park next season. We must regain momentum when Ipswich come to the North East next weekend.