Town captain Sam Morsy has described Newcastle United’s midfield as one of the best in the world ahead of the Blues’ meeting with the Magpies at St James’ Park on Saturday.

Kieran McKenna’s side travel to the north-east knowing that they will be relegated from the Premier League if they fail to win or if West Ham United avoid defeat at Brighton and Hove Albion, while Newcastle are in the midst of an intense battle to secure qualification for the UEFA Champions League.

The Tynesiders currently occupy the final position in the hunted top five and will be looking for a fifth consecutive league victory in front of their home crowd this weekend.

It seems likely the hosts will continue with their settled midfield trio of Bruno Guimarães, Sandro Tonali and Joelinton, a group of players Morsy heaped praise on ahead of Saturday’s battle.

“One of the best in the league,” the Town captain said. “Probably just behind Liverpool’s or maybe even on par with Liverpool’s. They’ve got a blend of everything and incredible players. I think they’ve got some of the best players in the world in that position.”

It is not just the midfield that has earned the Magpies plaudits this season, with top scorer Alexander Isak one of the most in-demand players in world football following another successful campaign in which he scored a hat-trick against Town in the reverse fixture.

At the back, local hero Dan Burn has had a rapid rise of his own and has already earned his first England call-up and scored in the Carabao Cup final so far in 2025.

Morsy, who had the 6ft 7in defender as his vice-captain at Wigan Athletic, is pleased to see the success that he has had since joining his boyhood club.

He said: “A really good player of course, but someone with a really good mentality, wanting to improve, wanting to work, and he’s kept making forward steps, forward strides. He’s stuck at it, worked his way up and he’s doing amazing and having a great season.

“Dan’s always been really level-headed, has high standards and works hard every day. It’s a lot of the characteristics you see in most players who go on and do well, just having that will to continually work and continue to improve.”

There is another Geordie involved who will not be playing at St James’ Park this weekend, with Town left-back Leif Davis denied the chance to face Newcastle due to his sending off against Arsenal last weekend.

“Like every individual there’s all sorts of tests,” Morsy said. “He came out of the team injured then he was out of the team for a couple of games with Conor Townsend coming in and doing exceptionally well.

“He’s back in and then he gets sent off. These things can happen, without VAR it’s a chance it’s a yellow but with everything slowed down now it’s difficult.

“There was no malice in the tackle for him, he’s just tried to win the ball but again when you slow it down it looks so much worse than probably what it was in the real-life state.

“He’s going to miss it for sure, it's going to be a blow to us. He’s had a really good couple of years and he’ll be disappointed, but he’ll keep himself focused no doubt and want to finish the season strong.

“It’s just letting him know that we’re here, we want him to work really hard in the next couple of weeks so he’s going to be back ready for the last two weeks.

“The only thing guaranteed in football is things like this, it’s the first red card of his career and it’s going to be a learning curve for him like a learning curve for all of us. He’ll be stronger because of it.”

Davis is one of as many as 10 Town players who will miss the weekend with the Blues in a difficult period regarding player availability. Townsend, who has often been deputy for Davis at left-back, is one of those who is also sidelined.

Despite the current struggles, Morsy says he hopes those that are available for selection can show plenty of spirit and perform with the right attitude this weekend.

“It can bring you together,” he claimed. “I don’t like to use the word unlucky but our three right-wingers are all out for the season and there’s injuries everywhere, it’s a depleted squad. But what it can do is bring the squad together.

“We’re going to need each other, we’re going to one of the toughest places in the league with a completely dismantled team. It’s just about coming together, working together and doing it for ourselves, the coaching staff, the fans and everyone associated with the club and just show the fighting spirit which is going to be really beneficial to us moving forwards.

“Not just in football but in life, if you give up in these moments you’ll never get the chance to see the good moments again. It’s going to be a good one, a tough one, but for certain we’re going to be together and hopefully we can get something.”

With Town’s impending relegation back to the Championship set to be confirmed, there is optimism among many that the Blues are well-placed to go again next season with morale among the players and supporters higher than many other clubs in a similar situation.

Morsy said: “The club’s in a great place. There’s lots of players in their first year in the Prem so they’ll be better because of it. Younger players have another full season of experience under their belt.

“You learn a lot more in your losses than you ever do in your wins so the team will be stronger and more resilient. We’ve had a really good taste of the level, we’ve been competitive in a lot of the games and it’s going to be a great learning curve as long as you see it like that.

“As a team but also individually, you have to take it as learning and want to grow and get better.”

Manager McKenna has outlined his own future in recent weeks at Portman Road and Morsy was asked whether the continuity will help them in their quest to bounce back to the Premier League in the coming seasons.

“You see managers all the time when it doesn’t quite go their way and they start downing tools a little bit,” the 33-year-old said. “With this manager, one of the many attributes which makes him so special has been really focused, he’s been like how he was any other week.

“He’s been really focused and been keeping the players focused. There’s been a quality level of training and improving, we’re going to go to Newcastle and try and get something.

“I’m committed to the club like the manager is and taking one game at a time. Last week leading up to Arsenal was probably one of the best training weeks we’ve had although it didn’t reflect it in the game.

“That’s the focus the staff and the players are continuing to have, just taking it one game at a time and trying to get results. At the end of the season everything will come to play.”

TWTD

Leejames99 added 07:14 - Apr 25 No about that! Only a yellow, what is it with justifying that horrendous tackle by Davis on Saka, no where near the ball, just a frustrated player who was being shown the standard needed in Prem to mark the Sakas of this world. Also 3 right wingers out? Does he mean Burns, Ogbene and Phillogene? Is Omari no longer a right winger now and only seen as a 10? He is much better on right, surely his position hasn't been changed to accomodate Wes Burns

-4

grinch added 07:57 - Apr 25 you need to go morsey Div 1 os your level You have been awful this season and cannot forgive you for your stance on pride not a leader at all so please go at end of season
-20

Writtleblue added 09:06 - Apr 25 Preparing us for another thrashing.
-5

Edmundo added 10:56 - Apr 25 Ah that's better, just added a couple more negative posters to my ignore list. Morsy is going to have his work cut out, as are them all. Get past this though, and we should have a few back and can get a few more points. COYB.
5

Bluewhiteboy added 12:18 - Apr 25 Studs straight into the achilles when the balls in front of the player is never a yellow and if it had been other way round we'd be raging. Tbf from my angle it didn't look bad but as soon as you see it properly you can tell its a shocker. Posters saying morsy need to go league 1 are wrong. He was head and shoulders above most in league 1 and held his own in championship, hence why we signed him from championship in first place. Reality is was never going to be a star in the prem however he has done better than I expected esp considering age. Think next season I'd still have as a squad player

1

Eeyore added 15:17 - Apr 25 Horrible negative rubbish on here. Every player has given everything this season. You cant ask for more than that. There have been many competative and enjoyable games. Morsy has done well this season. Many assumed he wouldnt cope at all with the prem. They were wrong. Loved seeing him go past Declan Rice last week! And 'grinch', I think Morsy will go, probably to the Saudi league and earn a fortune for a couple of seasons.

1

Eeyore added 15:19 - Apr 25 I am looking forward to being at St James Park tomorrow. Hopefully another typical battling away performance !
0

Leejames99 added 15:49 - Apr 25 All tried hard, battling performances, Morsy go past Rice lol once in a game brilliant, I suppose Hirst 1 shot was incredible also. Boohoo we bloke all the negativity, pathetic, all the pundits and pros laughing at us. We should be rock bottom, if it wasn't for keepers we would be.
-1

armchaircritic59 added 18:01 - Apr 25 Whilst we are all entitled to our opinions on players, (and I wonder what theirs would be on some of the posters!), it doesn't have to get nasty and personal. Most of them have been found out this season, but no one has shirked responsibility or lacked effort. We go again in the Championship next season, hopefully the first step on making ourselves more permanent residents of the Premier League. It's unlikely to be a walk in the park, but we will be in a great starting place.

2

armchaircritic59 added 23:57 - Apr 25 And I might add as a side note, there are some widely differing views on here, many expressed in very different ways, some of us appreciate some and not others. I think there's one thing that unites us all though, we are all passionate about ITFC, however we go about it.
1

Blogs 298 bloggers

Ipswich Town Polls