Manchester United’s Phil Jones has admitted that his teammates and himself were not good enough vs Newcastle as they fell to a 1-0 defeat.
Jose Mourinho’s men were expected to get a routine win over the Magpies and perhaps complacency was one of the factors in the loss.
No one was blameless after such a result and it now leaves United 16 points behind fierce rivals and league leaders Manchester City.
Worse though is that the teams below the club can now catch up to them such as Tottenham, Liverpool and Chelsea and risk kicking them out of the Champions League spots.
The Red Devils will even face both the Reds and the Blues in two of their next three upcoming fixtures in a time that will surely test the club’s ability.
#MUFC defender Phil Jones:
"We didn't show up today, we started slow. We got control midway through the first half and should have scored but we weren't at the races, we weren't good enough, simple as."@BBCRMsport
— ᗷIᒪᒪ ᖇIᑕᕮ
(@billrice23) February 11, 2018
Whilst Phil Jones wasn’t particularly poor during the loss to Newcastle, recent performances have called into question whether he’s a true Manchester United centre-back.
Chris Smalling has also frustrated fans hugely and it’s tough to see both of them remaining at the club next season with surely at least one being sold.
The competition for spots in the centre of defence has never been higher with Eric Bailly, Marcos Rojo and Victor Lindelof also all fighting for just two starting positions.
If one counts youngster Axel Tuanzebe that makes it six centre-backs competing for two spots- surely one or two players have to go.
One gets the feeling that the only reason Mourinho hasn’t sold any of them already is due to the injury crisis the club’s defenders seem to go through every season but perhaps this will be their last straw.