Newcastle United 3-0 Southampton: Key takeaways

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NEWCASTLE UPON TYNE, ENGLAND – MARCH 10: Ayoze Perez of Newcastle United is challenged by Cedric Soares and Mario Lemina of Southampton during the Premier League match between Newcastle United and Southampton at St. James Park on March 10, 2018 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images) /

Worst performance yet?

Despite the recent unstimulating draws against Burnley and Stoke, there was still a real hope that the team could turn a corner and finish the season strongly. If Saints had beaten Newcastle they would have found themselves in 13th position and 4 points clear of the drop zone.

But instead they turned out what was arguably their worst performance so far. Rather than fellow strugglers, the visitors made their hosts look like Champions League contenders. Not only was the result clear cut, the difference between the two sides couldn’t have been more stark.

Newcastle had a belief and a hunger that we haven’t seen in Southampton for too long. Saints looked like a team of individuals who didn’t really want to be there. We mentioned Lemina and Tadic earlier, but the player ratings show that they weren’t the only ones to let the side down.

Where does Pellegrino go from here? There are still plenty of fans calling for the board to sack him. But surely that ship has now sailed, at least the end of the season.

Ultimately it’s down to the players. The manager can take the blame for the lineup, but not for sloppy passes, inaccurate crosses, failed clearances and being caught on the ball. As Luke Edwards of the Telegraph put it, Southampton’s players “looked complacent, arrogant and disinterested – they should be ashamed of themselves.”

If Saturday wasn’t the long-overdue wake up call that they all needed, then the hope we held a few weeks ago is all but gone.