- Manchester United are 14th in the Premier League after losing 2-0 to Wolves
- Newcastle have now found their stride and won their last four matches in a row
- LISTEN NOW: It’s All Kicking Off! New formation, some new faces, but the optimism has gone at Old Trafford
Newcastle winger Anthony Gordon has warned Manchester United that the in-form Magpies will look to pile the misery on when they head to Old Trafford on Monday.
United fell to a 2-0 defeat at struggling Wolves on Boxing Day and are 14th in the Premier League, 11 points adrift of the top four and eight points above the drop zone.
Goals from Matheus Cunha, who scored directly from a corner in a repeat of Son Heung-min’s strike for Tottenham in the Carabao Cup, and Hwang Hee-chan inflicted a fifth defeat on new boss Ruben Amorim in only his 10th game in charge.
Eddie Howe’s side, meanwhile, have won their last four matches in a row and climbed into fifth place, a stark turnaround from their poor run of form just several weeks ago.
And Gordon believes that Newcastle have now gone from ‘nearly men’ to contenders for the Champions League spots with the Red Devils next in their sights.
Speaking after the 3-0 win against Aston Villa, Gordon said: ‘What has changed? We are not nearly men anymore, we have been winning! It is just a mindset shift.
Anthony Gordon has warned Manchester United that Newcastle will look to pile on the misery
United’s 2-0 defeat at Wolves on Boxing Day was Ruben Amorim’s fifth in his first 10 games
United are 14th in the Premier League and just eight points above the relegation zone
‘We got to the point where we had drawn the Palace game and should have won, we lost to Brentford quite poorly, then it was a case of asking how long we were going to continue missing these opportunities to get up the table. Everything is so tight.
‘It was an impressive win over Villa. When you see that focus like against Villa we win games. We put teams on the back foot and thinking back to our Champions League season, we can score goals like that at any time.
‘If we get an early goal teams have to come out and press us and that’s when we can do our stuff. The reaction has been unbelievable. We have got to keep going.
‘On to the next game. Big games. We have to be relentless. Now it is about carrying home performances away from home. We don’t want inconsistency.
‘We can do what we want.
‘We started quite slow and missed opportunities. We are picking up form at the right time. Christmas is when the league starts to take shape.
‘We are hitting form at the right time.’
With United falling down the table, a beleaguered Amorim admitted at Molineux that he is not safe from the sack despite only taking the reins last month.
Gordon challenged Newcastle to deliver a ‘ruthless’ performance at Old Trafford next
Eddie Howe has presided over a remarkable turnaround in form with his side now fifth
‘I know the business that I’m in,’ said Amorim. ‘The manager of Manchester United can never, no matter what, be comfortable.
‘I know that if we don’t win, regardless, if they pay the buyout or not, I know every manager is in danger. I like that because that is the job, so I understand the question.
‘You can argue that I have been here one month and I’ve had four training (sessions), but we are not winning. That is the reality and I’m quite comfortable with that.’
