Eddie Howe insists Newcastle 'didn't deliver' against Aston Villa

‘I feel sorry for the people watching us today’: Eddie Howe insists Newcastle ‘didn’t deliver’ after seeing Aston Villa dismantle his team at Villa Park which saw the Magpies fail to consolidate their spot in the top four

• Eddie Howe believes Newcastle’s thrashing by Aston Villa was a shock to his side
• The Newcastle boss insisted he has ‘a lot to think about’ after defeat on Saturday
• Meanwhile Villa manager Unai Emery beamed at his side’s 3-0 victory

Eddie Howe said he feels sorry for Newcastle fans who travelled to Aston Villa after his side were dismantled in their worst performance of the season.

Ollie Watkins scored twice and Jacob Ramsey another as Newcastle leaked chances to Unai Emery’s in-form Villa team.

And Howe said his team did not represent themselves in the best way. ‘It’s the first time it’s happened in a long time,’ he said. ‘We didn’t represent ourselves in the best way we can.

‘I feel sorry for the people who were watching us today. You consistently have to show you deserve to keep the shirt. That’s what the game is about. We’ve got a lot to think about.

‘We didn’t look right all over the pitch today. It was a disappointing day that we have to analyse but move on quite quickly. We need to focus on what’s ahead.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe has labelled his side’s 3-0 defeat with Aston Villa 

Newcastle produced an out-of-sorts showing as they struggled to contain Villa

Villa striker Ollie Watkins (left) stands over Kieran Trippier (middle) and Nick Pope (right) after scoring his second goal

‘It’s not the stage of the season to over-analyse necessarily with the players because the games come thick and fast, the games only get bigger. Hopefully we can use this as a positive to highlight where we went wrong. Today we didn’t deliver.’

Fans are labelling this win as Villa’s best performance in years and Emery said: ‘We were very consistent. The team we faced are in a very good moment. Our priority is to get a clean sheet. We are very happy because our box is very important. Today was the perfect day.’

Asked whether Villa can make a charge into the top four, Emery said: ‘We are speaking about the difficult next target we can have – but not now. We can be a candidate for Europa League but not top four.

‘There are a lot of teams in front in that position. We are going to face Tottenham at home and Manchester United away but they have enough advantages.

Watkins (left) stunned Trippier (right) and his Newcastle colleagues as Villa ran riot at home on Saturday

Villa boss Unai Emery (pictured) labelled his side’s dominant win over Newcastle as a ‘perfect day’

‘Football is passion. We are trying to create and build an identity and style. We need to keep positive energy for our fans.’

Two-goal Watkins added: ‘We’re on a great run, we’re playing good football. Newcastle are a top side and they didn’t have many chances today, so it shows the levels we’re at.

‘We’re all enjoying our football here at Villa Park. Once we get that first goal it’s a hard place to come.

‘Trusting team-mates in tight areas on the pitch and if we make a mistake we just go again. There’s a real togetherness in the team. Everyone’s enjoying it and we’re looking forward to the games to come.’

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