Gary Neville gives verdict on ‘brilliant’ Newcastle performance

Newcastle United beat Aston Villa 1-0 on Sunday afternoon to seal their third consecutive win in the Premier League. The Magpies are now unbeaten in their last five games and climbed out of the relegation zone recently. Newcastle are four points clear of the bottom three with a game in hand, so they should no longer be looking over their shoulder.

Newcastle’s situation looked precarious before their takeover by Public Investment Fund, PCP Capital Partners and RB Sports & Media, but the Toon Army’s future now looks bright. Gary Neville says their performances of late have been ‘brilliant’ and is excited by what’s to come in the North-East.

He said on Sky Sports’ Gary Neville Podcast: “I have been waiting for this actually for about 10 years at Sky Sports. I remember Newcastle when they were right up there challenging for the title. This is the best I’ve seen it in probably 10 or 11 years of working for Sky: the feeling, the energy in the stadium.

“The performance was really good. The work rate of the players was really good. It feels like St James’ Park is back. I can’t hear myself think. I don’t actually know if my sound is being picked up at this moment in time or not, but it’s absolutely brilliant.”

In Newcastle’s last five games, they’ve drawn 1-1 with Manchester United, drawn 1-1 with Watford, won 1-0 against Leeds United, won 3-1 against Everton and won 1-0 against Villa. Relegation was a genuine possibility before Newcastle’s significant investment, but now they’re expected to climb the table with a squad packed full of talent.

Next up for the Magpies is a trip to face West Ham United on Saturday, February 19.

In other news, Noel Whelan says Newcastle will miss ‘brilliant’ and ‘quality’ Kieran Trippier