Bruno Guimaraes called the mentality of his Newcastle team-mates into question following their derby day humbling against Sunderland – claiming their performance was ‘a mess’.
Eddie Howe‘s men fell to a 1-0 defeat at the Stadium of Light on Sunday in the the first Wear-Tyne derby in almost two years thanks to Nick Woltemade’s second-half own goal.
The stunning victory propelled Regis Le Bris’ newly promoted side into seventh place in the Premier League table, four points ahead of their city rivals who are languishing in 12th.
Sunderland were able to hold on with relative ease due to the visitors’ blunt attack, and captain Guimaraes – who maintained that Newcastle have a ‘better team’ than their rivals – was left fuming.
‘I’m very angry, I’m so embarrassed and I’m so frustrated’ the Brazilian said. ‘There was no crossing, no passing and no shooting. No nothing. It was a mess, in my opinion.
‘We know we have a better team than them (Sunderland) but we didn’t play like the better team. It was a mess. The consistency isn’t there, the mentality isn’t there. We didn’t compete. The fans expect and deserve better.
Bruno Guimaraes tore into his team-mates following their derby day loss against Sunderland
Toon striker Nick Woltemade’s second-half own goal was the difference between the sides
The stunning win propelled Regis Le Bris’ side into seventh place in the Premier League table
‘We accepted the way they play with the long balls. You need to compete in a derby and we didn’t.’
Asked if it was his most painful defeat as a Newcastle player, the 28-year-old said: ‘Definitely, yes. Not just as a defeat, more the way we play. Disappointed, frustrated, lack of energy, don’t put the things that we are able to do, cross the ball, pass the ball.
‘We were a mess in my point of view. Disappointed, angry. This one is a tough one to accept.
‘I’ve played many, many derbies in my career. It’s not easy to get a defeat, but today I think we disappointed the fans. We disappointed the fans in general because they were expecting much more. We were as well.
‘But we didn’t perform like the team that should come here with the right mentality. So yeah, we understand the fans.’
The Newcastle support were left furious at the performance given the hype surrounding the match in the build up. Results of late have been mixed for Toon, but they went into the weekend’s tie unbeaten in four matches.
Howe, who hooked wingers Anthony Gordon and Anthony Elanga before an hour was played in a bid to improve the Newcastle attack, said the defeat will ‘sting for a long time’.
‘We know our performance was off what we needed to be,’ the Newcastle boss said. ‘Not defensively, we defended well. It was a game of few chances. Unfortunately, the one big moment goes against us.
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Guimaraes said the performance was a ‘mess’ and called Newcastle’s mentality into question
Eddie Howe apologised to the fans and said ‘our performance was off what we needed to be’
‘But we weren’t good enough to open them up. I am disappointed for the supporters and sorry for our performance, for a lack of goalmouth action and clinical attacking. It certainly wasn’t a lack of effort.
‘But the first 60 minutes I don’t think we posed a threat at all. It wasn’t the finest day for any of our front players. The openings were there, with a better decision or pass. But the quality was not there in that phase of the game.’