Conor Gallagher has called on Chelsea to indulge in some soul searching.
The World Cup-bound midfielder was denied an equaliser by a brilliant Nick Pope save in the second half as Chelsea went five without a win. Gallagher said: “We’ve got to be better and we need to take a look at ourselves. Physically, they were stronger than us and a lot more intense and that’s something we need to improve on.
“If we want to be challenging for titles and things like that, then we need to be so much better and Newcastle showed that. So we need to look at ourselves because we know there’s a lot to improve on.”
On his big change, Gallagher said: “It was a bit of a soft shot and knowing how big Pope is, he got across to cover the goal well. I was hoping it would creep in. As it turned out, we conceded soon after that chance and that’s really disappointing from our perspective.”
Meanwhile, match winner Joe Willock is heading to New York to watch some basketball in the next two weeks. Having slam-dunked Chelsea with a 67th minute winner, Willock explained that another “statement win” means the “sky is the limit” for the revived Tyneside giants.
Willock said: “I am so happy. We are here to compete and not just take part in this league. We have to reach our goals. There is a long way to go. But this was a huge statement win.” The ex-Arsenal star has been given a big role by Eddie Howe and added: “I am confident at the moment. The belief the manager has shown in me has been huge. I am trying to repay him and do my bit in the team.
“It was a huge win. I have come on leaps and bounds. Now I have scored a couple people think that has just come, but I have put in performances over a long period. I am enjoying my football. I am going to New York to watch a basketball game so I did the basketball celebration for that.
“We left it all out on the pitch because we knew we had a break. If we can continue this form when we get back then the sky is the limit.”
Boss Eddie Howe added: “We probably didn’t want the break with the momentum we are in. Very, very good on all levels. The players, the staff, everyone, it has been more than we could have hoped for at the start of the season. The night games here are special. It was a great win for us. It was two good teams. We were at a high level of performance from all the players.”
