Jermaine Jenas and Rio Ferdinand had very different perspectives after Newcastle were knocked out of Europe after losing to AC Milan.
Newcastle were beaten 2-1 at St James’ Park on Wednesday night as their return to the Champions League came to an end. They took the lead through a stunning strike from Joelinton before Christian Pulisic equalised from close range.
The game became stretched as they searched for the winner they needed to have a chance of progression to the last 16 and Samuel Chukwueze made them pay on the counter-attack. The result saw Eddie Howe’s side finish bottom of the group and Milan drop down to the Europa League as Paris Saint-Germain and Borussia Dortmund progressed.
Speaking post-match, Howe said he was “absolutely devastated not to go through” and felt his injury-hit squad put everything into making it happen. But while they may be disappointed in the short term, Ferdinand believes that their reduced workload will prove beneficial in the long term.
“Eddie Howe and the players can’t say this, but I am guaranteeing you now that they will be delighted, I think, to not be going into the Europa League because of the amount of injuries they have got,” he said on TNT Sports. “ Kieran Trippier has just limped past us here – and a few of them are quite medium to long-term.
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“It makes it very difficult to be battling on many fronts in different competitions when your squad is so threadbare. They have to get these players back fit, and more and more games would make that more and more unlikely for those players to come back fit.”
Newcastle lost 2-1 to drop out of European football (Richard Sellers/Getty Images)Newcastle are seventh in the Premier League, seven points adrift of defending champions Manchester City, who currently occupy fourth place. They are currently without Nick Pope, Jacob Murphy, Elliot Anderson, Sven Botman, Joe Willock, Harvey Barnes, Javier Manquillo and Matt Targett due to injury, while Sandro Tonali is suspended for breaching betting rules.
Competing against top-class opposition in the Champions League has been a difficult ask for Howe’s side, but Jenas believes they would still have liked to have finished third in Group F in order to move into the Europa League.
“It is one of them. If it is in the top five and they get into the Champions League [next season], great, but if they get into the Europa League it gives you another chance,” he said. “I think with the competition that is going to be coming from all the clubs around them, from Villa, Spurs, United might come back into it, there are loads of teams battling it out for Champions League places.
“I think the Europa League would have been good for them to get that experience. That was the feeling I got from Eddie Howe – that European football would have been better for their experience, but I get Rio’s point that they’re down to their bare bones. “
Howe vowed to fight on in the Premier League and try to secure Champions League qualification for next season by finishing in the top four. He said: “It’s not through a lack of effort – we have a very stretched squad and those players are going again and again. I couldn’t be prouder of what they have given me physically and mentally. I don’t think we can have any regrets and we will try to absorb everything that we can to take that into our Premier League form.”
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