Newcastle United defender Kieran Trippier doesn't believe Anthony Gordon was out to get one over on Everton when he returned to his former club on Thursday night.
Gordon received, as many expected, a hostile reception on his return to Goodison Park, being booed before, during and after the 4-1 win for his new side. He came off the bench during the final 10 minutes.
The winger left his boyhood club under a cloud back in January, refusing to train as he pushed through a move to Newcastle in the final days of the winter window. The 22-year-old also submitted a formal transfer request.
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Video footage then emerged post-match showing Gordon pumping his fists with a big smile across his face as he made his way down the tunnel and back to the Magpies' dressing room. But Trippier doesn't believe his team-mate returned to his old club with the intention of getting one over them.
Asked about Gordon's return, the England international said: "I don’t think it was motivation for Ant. He decided to leave the club to go on a new journey, so for Anthony, it wasn’t trying to get one over Everton in a bad way.
"He has come here as a Newcastle player to win a match. Of course, it is going to add extra spice because of the situation, what happened etc.
"But Anthony is a good young kid who wants to learn and progress as a footballer, and he is certainly doing that at Newcastle."
The demoralising second-half collapse against the Magpies means Everton's winless run now stretches to six games. However, Blues supporters couldn’t have done any more to help inspire their team to victory.
Thousands of Evertonians packed the streets surrounding Goodison to provide their team’s coach with a thunderous welcome before the match. While fireworks also greeted both sides as they made their way onto the pitch.
"You are going to need to [dig in] coming to places like this because we are both fighting for different reasons," Trippier said when asked about the Goodison atmosphere.
"Anytime you come to Everton, you know you are in for a battle. We learned that from last season, when they beat us 1-0. We knew what kind of atmosphere we were coming into.
"It is the business end of the season, and we knew Everton were going to come out of the traps fast because we are both fighting for different reasons. Not many teams come here and score three or four goals because Everton are a really good side."
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