Kieran Trippier has delivered a firm message inside the Newcastle United dressing room, insisting there can be no complaints about the club’s demanding schedule following their FA Cup exit to Manchester City.
Acting as stand-in captain in the absence of injured midfielder Bruno Guimaraes, the experienced defender urged his teammates to quickly refocus as Newcastle prepare for a huge UEFA Champions League last-16 clash with Barcelona at St James’ Park.
The Magpies had started brightly against City and even took the lead through Harvey Barnes in the 18th minute.
However, the momentum shifted as the visitors responded strongly, with Savinho levelling the match before Omar Marmoush struck twice in the second half to secure progression for the reigning champions.
Despite the disappointment, Trippier refused to allow the fixture congestion to become a talking point among the squad.
“There should be no excuses about the games or schedule, throughout my career I have been in this situation many times, this is where you want to be as a footballer going into games against Barca and winning these types of occasions,” said Trippier.
“I think every competition, the Carabao Cup, FA Cup, we know and I know as an Englishman how precious this cup is.
“You want to go far in it. But ultimately, and this is the reality, you have to hold your hands up, Man City were the better team on the day.
“It just shows the quality they have. That’s where we want to be.
“They are multiple champions for a reason. We have to hold our hands up and we can have no excuses, they were a better team.”
The defeat came shortly after Newcastle celebrated a major win over Manchester United at home, and Trippier believes that same aggressive approach will be essential when Barcelona visit Tyneside.
“No matter who comes to town, Man City, Man United or Barcelona, we have to show that positive mindset.
“It gets supporters off their seats. For 30 minutes, we did that.
“But again no excuses we have to forget this, we have a huge game against Barca on Tuesday and we know we have to be up for it.
“We have to start well to get the fans into the game.
“Home or away you need to start well against Man City, and we did that for the first 30 minutes we matched them.
“We got the goal but they equalise but going into half-time we felt positive, the momentum swung our way before half-time.
“But it is disappointing to concede so early in the second half. You can never concede like that against a team like this, but they show their quality individually and as a team.”
With the FA Cup journey now over, Newcastle must quickly regroup as they turn their focus toward Europe, where another high-stakes challenge awaits against one of the continent’s biggest clubs.
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