The 22-year-old defender pulled no punches after Rafael Benitez’s team slumped to a 3-1 defeat at Southampton on Saturday to leave their Premier League status hanging by a thread.
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The win left Saints in seventh place, two points behind West Ham United, while Newcastle are second from bottom, six points adrift of safety.
Rafa Benitez remains in search of his first win as Newcastle boss after last weekend’s gut-wrenching defeat at Norwich in which his side fought back twice but conceded a stoppage-time goal to come away with nothing.
Ronald Koeman is confident Southampton can seal a return to European football without needing to surpass the 60 points they achieved in the Premier League last season.
“The confidence we must improve a lot, we have to get three points and that can change everything if we are capable of doing that”. “The fans will be crucial for us because we need them pushing and supporting the players”, the former Valencia, Liverpool and Real Madrid manager said. Sometimes you have to give credit to them.
“We scored a first fast goal from Shane [Long] and that made it easier”. Losing it so late after having the better of the second half was such a cruel blow.
Wanyama’s goal wrapped up Saints’ victory inside the hour, just leaving Andros Townsend to fire a good-looking but meaningless riposte for Newcastle.
“I know footballers can be labelled as people who don’t care, but you only have to look at the faces in the dressing room to see how much it does mean to us”. “But now it’s the time to stick together and try to do our best because that’s the only way”.
“If you start like today, they don’t get control of the game and you can create changes and that is what we saw in the first 45 minutes”.
“If he thinks he can keep the team in the Premier League then of course it’s a good opportunity for a manager because we are talking about a big, important club in the Premier League”, Koeman said in his pre-match press conference. “To start very offensively and press Newcastle from the start”.
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“That is very clear for me and for every player, and that is the message for the fans: we will continue fighting, we will not give up until the last minute”.
