Bruno Guimaraes has labelled Newcastle’s performance against Brentford on Saturday a ‘mess’ and called on his teammates to turn around their ‘disappointing’ season.
The Magpies delivered a defensive horrorshow to lose 4-2 at the Gtech Community Stadium on Saturday.
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As a result, the Magpies are now languishing in 12th place, a point above Manchester United and seven adrift of Manchester City in the final Champions League spot.
Newcastle have taken just two points from their last four games, while they’re without a clean sheet in their last five — conceding 11 goals during that time.
Guimaraes has not held back in his assessment of Saturday’s defeat.
“First half, we have some good moments,” the Brazilian midfielder said (via talkSPORT), adding: “But the second [half], we became a mess. After the third goal, we lost our way, we lost control. We became a mess on the pitch. Very disappointed.”
Bruno Guimaraes slates Newcastle defending
Bruno Guimaraes and Bryan Mbeumo. (Photo by Mike Hewitt/Getty Images)
Guimaraes wasn’t done there, however.
Newcastle are expected to challenge for European football this season but right now, their defensive issues mean that looks, at best, a distant possibility.
The 27-year-old believes it’s not just Newcastle’s defenders who need to take responsibility, either, calling up on their forwards and his fellow midfielders to up their game.
“We have been conceding a lot this season,” Guimaraes said.
“We’ve got Champions League and we didn’t concede as much as we have.
“This is not a problem about just the defence. It’s a problem for the midfield, a problem for the attack. It’s the team’s problem.
“We have to stop this. But our season, being honest, has been very, very disappointing.”
Up next for Newcastle is a home clash against Leicester City on Saturday.