ANTHONY GORDON HAS apologised to his Newcastle team-mates and Virgil van Dijk for the challenge which cost him a red card in Monday night’s dramatic Premier League defeat to Liverpool.

The England international was sent off in first-half stoppage-time at St James’ Park after a poor challenge on the Reds’ skipper, and could only look on from afar as the 10 men fought back from 2-0 down to level the game before 16-year-old substitute Rio Ngumoha fired the visitors to a 3-2 victory.

After the final whistle, Gordon posted on his Instagram account: “I want to sincerely apologise to my team-mates and the fans. My intentions were pure. I was just trying to create energy in the game and I mistimed the tackle.

“I also want to apologise to Virgil, I would never intend to tackle somebody like this on purpose. We spoke after and he knows that.

“More importantly, I’m so proud of the time I spent on the pitch and how we played tonight. The atmosphere from you all is what makes SJP so special. I love everything we stand for as a club and no more than right now.

“I’ll be back and better, the same as every other setback I’ve ever faced. See you soon.”

While Van Dijk told Gordon, ‘If that’s not a sending off then I don’t understand football,’ Newcastle boss Eddie Howe had sympathy with the man he had asked to deputise for wantaway Alexander Isak.

“It’s an unfortunate one, I think he’s slightly unlucky with it. Everyone has told me it’s a clear red; my first opinion was slightly different, but maybe I’ve got the wrong angle, so I’ve got sympathy for him.”

Asked if the three-match suspension Gordon now faces makes Isak’s departure even less likely, Howe said: “Yes, of course. If you do the maths, we’re running out of options in that position.”

Howe called for clarity over the Swedish international’s future after seeing his side edged out by suitors Liverpool.

Alexander Isak: Howe calls for 'clarity' on Isak's future. Alamy Stock Photo Alamy Stock Photo

Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was among the crowd amid reports the owners had met Isak earlier in the day.

Head coach Howe insisted after the game he was not party to what was said during those discussions, but admitted a decision over Iask – the subject of a rejected £110million [€127m] bid from the Reds – was needed sooner rather than later.

Howe said: “I’ve not been party to talks on this for a long time now. I’ve been preparing the team and giving all my energy to the players that want to play for Newcastle. I think that is where my energy is best put at the moment.

“We want clarity, we want to move forward, we want the narrative to change because we’re in the start of the season now.

“We’re into the action and we’ve got to get results, and we’ve got to try to focus on what we can control. We’ve given two really, really good performances, we’ve ended up with one point. That’s tough for us to take, especially in this moment where you’re looking for positives to cling to.

“But we battle through and we now go on to Leeds.”