Former Newcastle goalkeeper Shaka Hislop wants Newcastle to be relegated from the Premier League this season – as he feels it will force Mike Ashley to finally sell the club.
Newcastle are hovering two points above the bottom three ahead of the crucial six-pointer with a struggling Southampton side sitting just a place and a point below the Magpies ahead of the clash at St James’ Park on Saturday.
There are a trio of teams nestled above Rafa Benitez’s side – Swansea, Huddersfield and West Ham – who are within three points of 18th-placed Crystal Palace meaning it’s currently all to play for in the bottom-half of a congested table.
But Hislop, who spent three years at Newcastle between 1995 and 1998 after joining from Reading when Kevin Keegan was manager, would prefer to see United make an immediate return to the Championship and explained his reasoning on the ESPN Extra Time show.
“I’ve picked Newcastle,” the former Trinidad and Tobago international said. “And I’ll tell you why – because that would force Mike Ashley to sell. And I think you will not see the best of Newcastle until Ashley sells. In case you haven’t gathered, I’m not much of an Ashley fan.”
Victory for Newcastle on Saturday would kick-start a survival mission that suffered a minor setback following a 2-0 loss to Liverpool at Anfield last week.
