Gabriel Agbonlahor shares what Newcastle’s players will now be saying after Champions League exit

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Gabby Agbonlahor has revealed what he thinks Newcastle United players will be saying after losing to AC Milan last night.

Milan defeated Newcastle in the final group stage game of the Champions League to send the Magpies crashing out of the Champions League.

TalkSPORT pundit Agbonlahor claimed on the show that, because of the defeat, Newcastle are going to want to qualify for the tournament again now more than ever.

Agbonlahor says Newcastle are hungry for more

It took 20 years for Newcastle to qualify for the Champions League again after being knocked out of the competition in 2003, but the owners won’t want to see a repeat of that after this season’s display.

Newcastle may have been ahead of schedule last year, but the ultimate goal is of course to finish in the top four every season and establish themselves as one of Europe’s elite.

The game against Milan was bitterly disappointing, but it may well provide some added motivation for Eddie Howe and his players to have the desire to put it right and qualify for next year’s competition.

As an Aston Villa fan who are doing exceptionally well in the Premier League, Agbonlahor was worried about Newcastle after their defeat to Milan, suggesting that the Geordies will now have a taste for European football.

On talkSPORT, Agbonlahor said: “I’m quite worried as an Aston Villa fan that Newcastle are out. They are going to be having talks now as players and management like ‘let’s go and do that again’. Let’s get into the top four, we want that again. We want that feeling of playing in the Champions League. They are going to be at it now, until the end of the season.”

Newcastle are still on track for the long-term goals

Nobody expected Newcastle to qualify for the Champions League last season and nobody expected them to qualify for the knockout rounds this season, especially after the draw was made, so it’s not a huge disaster like some would have you think.

Newcastle’s owners are obviously ambitious and would like to become the biggest club in the world, but they are also intelligent and appreciate that they’re in this for the long-term, not expecting immediate success.

Eddie Howe is still massively overachieving with the squad that he has and it won’t be until next year, when more money has been invested into the squad, that the former Bournemouth man may feel the pressure to compete at the top.