Matt Ritchie has outlined what does it take to be Newcastle United player and he suggested it wasn’t just the footballing ability. He talked about playing at St James Park and the effect of 52000 fans groaning on you. Ritchie moved from Bournemouth for a £12 million deal in 2016.
Matt Ritchie said “Definitely not more motivation. That comes from within, from your manager, from yourself, from all of your team-mates, Certainly not more motivation. The atmosphere, I suppose. When there’s a good atmosphere at St James’, it’s unbelievable. When there’s a bad atmosphere, it takes, excuses me, b******* to play. You’ve got to have belief in yourself and not be afraid to make mistakes because when you hear 52,000 Geordies groan, it’s not a nice feeling but you have to get on with it.”