Sunday 10 April 2016 01:38, UK
Charlie Nicholas says Newcastle United are "possibly the worst team that ever played in the Premier League" after their appalling 3-1 defeat to Southampton.
Newcastle find themselves six points adrift of safety with only six games to go and after another poor display from his players Rafa Benitez will be struggling to find any positives as they are without a win in their last seven games.
Nicholas told Soccer Saturday: "It was lifeless - there was about five minutes and 10 minutes of energy in the second half. When they were 3-0 down they showed a little bit of fight.
"It's just shambolic, it really is. As bad as previous teams have been in the Premier League, I honestly don't remember a big club of this stature having such a bad defence with so many different managers trying different things and spending the money they've spent."
Newcastle were one of the Premier League's big-spenders in January but Nicholas felt they invested in the wrong areas given they have the second worst defensive record in the league.
"I think I'm watching possibly the worst team that ever played in the Premier League, certainly the worst defence," Nicholas said during the game.
Reflecting on the match, he later added: "I don't know how they've made these decisions to go and spend this money on players - who are good players and better than what they had - in [Jonjo] Shelvey and [Andros] Townsend but you must identify your weaknesses.
"If you don't identify your weaknesses they are going to be exposed and this is exactly what came to fruition for Newcastle, it was just so easy."
