EDDIE HOWE regards the Anthony Gordon saga closed – but admitted the Newcastle United midfielder failed to fire as he was restored to the starting line-up at Aston Villa today.

The Magpies head coach held talks with his midfielder after he reacted furiously to being substituted in the closing stages of last weekend’s 2-1 win at Brentford.

Howe spelled out his dissatisfaction with Gordon’s display of petulance at the Gtech Community Stadium, but insisted he would not be holding a grudge against the January signing.

He handed Gordon his second Newcastle start at Villa Park this afternoon, but the midfielder was unable to make a significant attacking contribution as his side crashed to a 3-0 defeat.

Howe said: “I put that (Gordon’s reaction) to bed as soon as we spoke. I’m not a manager or a person to hold grudges.

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“We move on and move on together. Anthony played really well last week when he entered the pitch, so I was hoping for a repeat of that performance.

“I thought Anthony did okay today. I think he worked hard. I think we suffered in possession, we didn’t play as we wanted to and weren’t as fluent as we usually are. Naturally then, your attacking players are starved of the ball, and I felt that was the case with all of them.”

Howe made a double substitution at the break as Newcastle turned things around at Brentford last weekend, but admitted concerns over the fitness levels of both Miguel Almiron and Sean Longstaff were factored into the timing of his changes this afternoon.

He said: “You’re always analysing your options and trying to find the right way to chase the game.

“Of course, with Miggy’s return, we weren’t quite sure how long he was going to be able to play, and Sean’s had some illness, so we weren’t quite sure how long he could play either. All these things are factored into my decision making.”