Jacob Murphy has hit back at Manchester United accusations claiming Newcastle United waste time heading into the Magpies' 2-0 win at the weekend. Erik Ten Hag was vocal about the Toon's gamesmanship prior to the game and Murphy says Eddie Howe and his side used that as motivation for a result.
The Red Devils won the battle of wits at Wembley in the Carabao Cup Final back in February, but it was Newcastle who stole a march in the race for Champions League football. The Magpies moved above Manchester United on goal difference, with both sides level on points with Tottenham Hotspur, who have played two games more than their top-four rivals.
Newcastle turned in their best performance of the season to run riot at St. James' Park, with a scoreline that flattered the visitors.
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Speaking to the Vibe with Five podcast, Murphy said: "Obviously we knew we weren't going to do Man United easily but there were quite a few things. The cup final, the had that on us, so we had to somehow get revenge on that.
"Comments in the media about out playing style etc, so there was lots of motivation going into the game and once we started, from the first moment, we just knew, you could smell it. The fans were right on it as well.
"To be fair, it's been one of the best experiences so far this season. It was a good day."
When asked if there was a specific moment in the tie where Newcastle felt they were on course to win, Murphy said: ""Usually from a regain, when we start our press off from a goal-kick, their first goal-kick De Gea was taking a while and I thought it was a bit unusual for him. They start playing out quick and he was taking his time with it and then asked everyone to go upfield and they kicked it long.
"I was like okay, lets see how the next goal-kick goes. They were taking a while and lots of people pointing, 'you go here, you go there' I could sense from that we were going to have a good game from there.
"Stuff about us being time wasters and being annoying to play against. Yeah, we are annoying to play against. We're full throttle and a high intensity team so in that sense we're annoying to play against.
"Time wasting and things like that, it didn't sit right for me and some of the boys in the team because that's not what we do."
Newcastle are a team almost unrecognisable from the beginning of last season, transforming from relegation favourites into European contenders. Murphy has lifted the lid on their high octane playing style and how it'll stand them in good stead.
"I think we're a super fit group of players and the intensity in training, we know we'll run whatever team off the park," he said. "That's always a good confidence boost going into any game.
"That's part of our DNA, the intensity, controlled aggression, intensity. It's 100 miles an hour on the press and stuff but it's with thought and an intention that we're going to regain it here, there, wherever it may be so everything is very structured and very detailed."
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