Callum Wilson sums up the mood at Newcastle United with social media message to fans

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Newcastle United were brought crashing back down to earth on Saturday.

Indeed, a six-game winning run (which of course included the Carabao Cup final) was brought to an end in fairly brutal fashion for Newcastle United.

Aston Villa thrashed Newcastle 4-1 in the Premier League’s late kick-off at Villa Park, putting them only two points the Magpies in the battle to qualify for the Champions League.

Still, there is no immediate cause for alarm. Eddie Howe’s side remain third in the Premier League table – albeit Nottingham Forest could overtake them on Monday night – and have a winnable game at home to Ipswich Town up next.

A heavy defeat to a Champions League rival is hardly a positive of course but Callum Wilson summed up the mood rather well with a post-match social media message to supporters. 

• READ MORE: Newcastle United think they’ve discovered the next Callum Wilson

Callum Wilson’s message to Newcastle United fans after Aston Villa loss

After the game, Wilson posted a collage of himself in action on Instagram captioned: “Not the end to a tough week that we wanted, but we take the positives and keep it moving.”

Certainly, he’s right in suggesting there are positives to take. The context in which the result came in is important.

Newcastle are without their manager as Howe is recovering from pneumonia.

A small squad were playing their third game in a week and, frankly, looked tired. The defeat is understandable, with Villa being a force to be reckoned with at home.

It’s worth noting that Newcastle lost 3-0 at Villa in April 2023 before going on to secure a top-four finish, so it’s not like the team haven’t been before.

This is a team who have lifted the club’s first major domestic honour in 70 years. Winning the cup and potentially qualifying for the Champions League would surely have been looked upon as a dream season before a ball was kicked, particularly after a difficult summer.

Newcastle on course for Champions League “game-changer” this summer

Reaching Europe’s elite club competition would be huge for the club.

Newcastle could earn £17million by reaching the Champions League group stage, and it’d also no doubt help them convince their top players to stay at the club long-term.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	LiverpoolLiverpool	33	24	7	2	75	31	44	79
2	ArsenalArsenal	33	18	12	3	61	27	34	66
3	NewcastleNewcastle	33	18	5	10	62	44	18	59
4	Man CityManchester City	33	17	7	9	64	42	22	58
5	ChelseaChelsea	33	16	9	8	58	40	18	57
6	Nottm ForestNottingham Forest	32	17	6	9	51	38	13	57

In fact, the club also believe that Newcastle qualifying for the Champions League would be a “game-changer” for their summer recruitment plans.

Being able to offer potential new recruits the grandest stage on which to perform could open up new doors for the players they could potentially target.