Declan Rice gives Newcastle United ultimate sign of…

Declan Rice gives Newcastle United ultimate sign of respect after West Ham rout

Newcastle United players were measured with their own personal assessments after the 5-1 win over West Ham.

As they walked through the interview area, they spoke about the need to continue to work hard and start focusing on Brentford on Saturday. There was a more relaxed feel to the post-match routine at the London Stadium as Newcastle stars were not rushing for a flight.

But the spirits will be high as they start a recovery programme near their Chiswick base ahead of the clash with the Bees at the weekend. There were contrasting scenes as the players filed out of the home of West Ham last night though.

Dejected Irons players walked through the mixed zone with heads bowed and looking like a team that had been told a few home truths by David Moyes. Yet Newcastle players were hardly jubilant despite a huge victory in the capital which made it four wins in a row in the Premier League.

The Man City defeat aside, United have responded perfectly to their defeat in the Carabao Cup final against Man United. What was notable after the match was that West Ham and England star Declan Rice had full respect for Newcastle's stars.

Understandably, he waited for a chat with Newcastle skipper Kieran Trippier but that was always going to happen because of the Three Lions connection. But Rice also shook hands with the likes of Allan Saint-Maximin and Joelinton and told them: "Well played".

That was a stark contrast to other West Ham stars who trudged back from the dressing room after a heavy defeat. Rice was hurt by the result there's no doubt about that but he was respectful to the team that had beaten West Ham so well.

It's said that West Ham will sell Rice for £100million at the end of this season with Chelsea, Man United and Arsenal linked with the player. After seeing the way Newcastle swaggered into the capital and put on a fine show, he might have been left to wonder last night.

Mind the gap

Newcastle fans will be seeing plenty of the Tube over the next few days during their stay in London. But they could soon be travelling further afield.

They chant: "We're going to Italy" made a comeback last night as Newcastle's fifth goal went in from Joelinton. But while it's easy to start dreaming of jaunts to Milan, Monaco or Munich again, one thing is starting to look more and more likely.

That Newcastle will be in one of the UEFA competitions next season. As much as Eddie Howe is trying to manage expectations, United put themselves 10 points clear in a Euro slot last night with their win over West Ham.

Whether it will be the Champions League, Europa League or Europa Conference League won't matter a jot to Newcastle fans. As long as they are dusting down passports again they will be happy.

Of course, the money factor to the club's powers that be is another matter. Getting in the top four could have big implications on spending power and the need to satisfy FFP.

Newcastle cause late reshuffle on back pages on national titles

As the game kicked off there was constant chatter around the Press box about the impending appointment of Frank Lampard. It looked like no matter what happened, the back pages were pretty much done and dusted.

But Newcastle's super show - and the pressure on David Moyes - meant that the Magpies were too good to ignore. And the 5-1 win meant that this morning's headlines in London were just as much about the black and whites as they were Lampard and Chelsea.

Declan Rice gives Newcastle United ultimate sign of respect after West Ham rout

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