‘Hard work’… Gary Neville thought Tottenham were running rings around £12m Newcastle player today

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On a difficult evening for Eddie Howe’s Newcastle United against Tottenham Hotspur, Gary Neville had a lot of sympathy for one player.

As well as a crippling fixture list, Newcastle have dealt with so many injuries – all of which was evident in today’s 4-1 defeat.

And off the back of his last few performances, no one seems to be feeling the pressure more so than Kieran Trippier. 

A truly brilliant player, but one that now looks mentally and physically fatigued in his performances, which is understandable.

And having watched Trippier against Tottenham today, Neville was incredibly sympathetic with the task he faced, one that got the better of the Newcastle full-back.

Speaking on Sky Sports, Neville said: “I’ve got massive admiration for Kieran Trippier as a right-back, I think he plays the position brilliantly in all aspects.

“He’s really been tested today by Son [Heung-min]. Sometimes you play a game and think…that was hard work.

“They’re playing diagonals on top of him, they’re running at him, they’re playing passes inside him – every question you don’t want to be asked as a full-back is being asked.”

Not the kind of evening a fatigued player needed.

Gary Neville thought Tottenham were all over Newcastle’s Kieran Trippier

Of course, some Newcastle fans may consider it a mistake that Eddie Howe didn’t rotate his team further.

Although extremely limited in his options, perhaps Emil Krafth may have been ready for some minutes from the start.

It’s all easy to say in hindsight, but the most important thing will now be planning for the coming fixtures, a schedule that doesn’t get any easier.

AC Milan visit St. James’ Park on Wednesday, with Howe’s team still having five fixtures before the year ends.

And perhaps Gary Neville would even suggest that it’s time to give £12m Trippier a rest after his Newcastle showing against Tottenham.

It’s an incredibly difficult call, you don’t want to leave out one of your best players in the biggest of games.

But similarly, there’s no benefit to running them into the ground.