Newcastle might be about to get ruthless and air turned blue in added humiliation at full-time

Chris Wood had his best game at St James’ Park to date as his team won 3-1 to cap off an incredible year. The former Newcastle United striker’s crimson Nottingham Forest uniform was the only issue.

It is amazing to consider that Wood had only ever scored one goal for Newcastle at this exact stadium. Alexander Isak had opened the score midway through the first half, but the veteran treated himself to a Boxing Day feast when he smashed a hat-trick past Martin Dubravka to silence the Geordies.

It was Newcastle’s second straight loss against a team that was in danger of relegation, and the hosts did not exactly find relief at the end of regulation time. Similar to what happened at Luton, following the game, Newcastle’s shell-shocked players and staff were once more the target of ‘You’re f—— s—!’ insults from the opposition for the second time in four days.

By that stage, thousands of Newcastle supporters had got up to drown their sorrows following a sixth loss in seven matches. This was not the well-drilled side that had made 2023 such a memorable year for them; this was a shattered, pale imitation ripped apart on the counter-attack time and time again.

Kieran Trippier admitted his standards had ‘dropped’ and were ‘nowhere near’. In truth, a few others could say something similar and Eddie Howe hinted that one or two ruthless calls could be in the offing.

“No amount of credit in the bank is big enough,” the Newcastle boss warned post-match. “You have to earn everything you get from game to game. I’m a firm believer in that so the players know they have to perform. We have to change our short-term form, for sure.”

And fast. Next up? A trip to Anfield to take on Liverpool on New Year’s Day. You can see why Howe is glad to have some time with his players on the training pitches after a gruelling run of 10 games in 31 days and those regular sessions made an almighty difference last season as individuals hit new heights. There is clearly a lot of work to do following a home defeat that few saw comin