Monday, 12th November, 2012
Newcastle United goalkeeper Tim Krul believes that the Magpies lost at the weekend against West Ham because they were tired from their Europa League exertions on Thursday.
Krul and co. visited Belgium in the Europa League, playing out an entertaining 2-2 draw against Club Brugge which kept Alan Pardew’s men on top of Group D.
The story was a different one against West Ham at St. James’ Park on Sunday, as former manager Sam Allardyce tasted victory against his old club with a 1-0 result, thanks to a goal from another Magpies old boy, Kevin Nolan.
Losing was a disappointment to Newcastle, but for Krul it was not a surprise, with it quickly becoming apparent during the match that the Europa League game was taking its toll.
"You could see the exhaustion of the team from the Europa League [against West Ham]", the goalkeeper told the Algemeen Dagblad.
"I soon realised that we did not have the strength", he added.
The defeat sees Newcastle go into the international break sitting tenth in the Premier League, a position they will soon hope to improve upon.
relatedNewsStoryLast season the Magpies were the league’s surprise package, fighting for a top four spot and eventually finishing fifth.
So far this season it is Everton, West Brom and West Ham that have defied expectations, with current positions of fourth, fifth and sixth respectively.
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