Latest News
Murphy ready to resume Premier League 2 campaign
Newcastle United Under-21s return to Premier League 2 action on Monday evening ahead of hosting their Aston Villa counterparts, with Alex Murphy relishing the resumption of league action.
The young Magpies host their Villans counterparts at Whitley Park (kick-off 7pm GMT) as they aim to begin the new year in positive fashion and continue their pursuit of promotion to Division One this term.
Murphy, who made his Newcastle first-team debut in the Diriyah Season Cup win over Al Hilal in Riyadh last month, is exciting to return to competitive action three weeks since claiming a 3-2 away win against Crystal Palace Under-21s in the Premier League Cup.
The Irish defender, who joined Newcastle's Academy from hometown club Galway United in May 2022, told nufc.co.uk: "We can't wait. It's been a long time without a game so everyone is buzzing in training and raring to go again.
"We left our league campaign on a positive note and had been six games unbeaten (before losing to Leeds) and playing well so we want to keep pushing towards the play-off spots and try to gain promotion at the end of the season. We set high standards so that's the main aim.
"It was really good to win that game against Palace because, in the Premier League Cup, we felt we were unlucky in a few games and shouldn't have lost and gave away silly goals.
"Everybody is feeling confident after that away victory as they are a good side. It's been a while without playing so everyone is very excited to play again and we aim to get another win against Aston Villa on Monday."
Elliott Dickman left the club last month following a 14-month spell as the Under-21s Lead Player Development Coach and Murphy admitted the squad were saddened to learn of the 44-year-old's departure but his sights on a successful season at second-string level remain.
The 18-year-old, who has represented Republic of Ireland at under-19 level, added: "We were all gutted to hear Elliott had left after we returned from our break. He was a great guy and manager but that's football sometimes.
"All of the coaches have done really well because it's not been easy for them either in seeing a colleague leave. It was sad but we're still focussed on the job ahead. We're always trying to impress anyway but a new head coach can bring out the best in players."