A Joe Willock goal was the difference as Eddie Howe got the better of Graham Potter with a 1-0 win at St James’ Park.
Potter started his reign at Stamford Bridge impressively, going unbeaten in his first nine games, but things have gone downhill since then, losing three Premier League matches on the spin and being eliminated from the Carabao Cup by Manchester City.
The loss at Newcastle left Chelsea eighth in the Premier League and facing an uphill task just to make it into the top four this season, while a title challenge looks to be over already.
Gallagher, who started the game at Newcastle, knows there is huge improvement to come from his team if they want to be competing for honours again and they must take a look at themselves if they want to achieve that.
‘I don’t think we were good enough and I think Newcastle deserved to win,’ Gallagher said after defeat at St James’ Park.
‘We’ve got to be better and we need to take a look at ourselves. Physically, they were stronger than us and a lot more intense and that’s something we need to improve on.
‘If we want to be challenging for titles and things like that, then we need to be so much better and Newcastle showed that. So we need to look at ourselves because we know there’s a lot to improve on.’
Potter admitted that t has been a difficult spell for his team, which started with a 4-1 loss at previous club Brighton last month, but hopes the World Cup break will be useful.
‘It’s been tough. We’re not in a great moment. We have to lick our wounds,’ he said. ‘We have a break now so we have to refocus, reenergise and hopefully get some players back. It’s been an incredibly intense period.
‘You have to accept the struggles you’ve had and then move forward. It’s change of scenery, a change of focus and when everyone comes back we can start again.’
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