Ritchie interview exposes lack of belief within NUFC

In a recent interview for the Chronicle, Matt Ritchie opened up about the negative mentality within the Newcastle United camp.

Newcastle United are only two points above the relegation zone after playing 21 matches this season and everyone on Tyneside is concerned about the possibility of the team being relegated in May. Rafa Benitez is desperately trying to maintain the club’s Premier League status with limited talent and a non-existent transfer budget, but the Magpies are in serious trouble.

Newcastle and Scotland winger Matt Ritchie sat down for an interview with Lee Ryder of the Chronicle this week and his honest statements should make supporters even more worried. In a general sense, Ritchie said that the players on the team are concerned, frustrated and simply lack of belief. The lack of belief or confidence is the last thing a team needs in their camp when they are fighting for survival. Here are some direct quotes from Ritchie’s interview this week:

"“We’re disappointed, against the bigger teams you have to stay in the game and I thought we did really well in the first half (against Manchester United)”[…]“We are in a fight and while we knew it would be tough this season we need to roll our sleeves up and get on with it.”[…]“This is where we find out if we have got the characters and the belief and the determination to achieve what we did last season.”[…]“Maybe we won’t go on and win 3-1 or beat teams 4-0 – we aren’t that team. We are a solid outfit and if we believe we can achieve what we did last season we can do it.”"

According to Ritchie, the players know how important every match is and he said that the team must learn to react better to certain scenarios in matches, especially when they concede a goal. A positive mentality and some renewed confidence would do the team well, but the team is expected to struggle for the remainder of this month as multiple league giants are still on the schedule.

Ritchie did not explicitly say this in his interview, but it was quite clear that he is hoping some new players walk through the door in January. According to Lee Ryder, Ritchie knows that some players on the team lack sufficient quality to make Newcastle competitive. Well, at least he is being honest. We can only hope that some new talent arrives on Tyneside this month and that Newcastle can avoid the drop this season.