Anthony Gordon hits back at 'complete NONSENSE' from Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney and tells them 'do better' - after pundits criticised his attitude over Barcelona benching

Anthony Gordon has hit out at Wayne Rooney and Alan Shearer after they criticised his attitude during Newcastle's 1-1 draw against Barcelona on Tuesday.

Gordon was benched for the Champions League clash after being ill in the build-up to the fixture, with the forward subsequently coming off the bench in the 67th minute.

This led to Shearer and Rooney questioning the 25-year-old for not starting the game, suggesting if they were in a similar position they would have done so after Eddie Howe billed the match as the 'biggest' in Newcastle's history.

Speaking on Amazon Prime, Shearer had said: 'Maybe I'm old school but if you're fit enough to train in the morning, and I know he doesn't feel well, but this is Barcelona at Newcastle for a place in the quarter-finals of the Champions League .

'It would take something extraordinary to keep myself out of this game tonight.'

Rooney added: 'Eddie Howe said before the game he probably has 20 or 30 minutes in him. So what is that telling you about what the sports scientists and doctors are saying? If you are ill, you are ill.

Anthony Gordon hit out at Alan Shearer and Wayne Rooney for spreading 'complete nonsense'

Shearer (right) and Rooney (second left) had criticised Gordon's attitude for not starting Newcastle's clash against Barcelona on Tuesday despite being ill in the build-up to the game

'He walked past us before the game and said he wouldn't shake our hands because he was ill and didn't want us to catch something. But then he is in the dressing room and with his teammates.'

Roy Keane echoed these sentiments on The Overlap as he said: ' How can you be ill, but come on for half an hour?'

However, Gordon took issue with these comments and shed light on the situation, before accusing the pundits of spreading a false narrative.

Speaking after Newcastle's 1-0 win over Chelsea on Saturday when he scored the winning goal, Gordon told Match of the Day : ' Usually I don't like to clear stuff up because I don't care too much. But this one does need clearing up because it was just nonsense.

'I didn't see but the stuff that the media guy told me was complete and utter stupidity.

'I was in bed for 3 days, missed training, so I was sick for three days. Then I turned up on the day of the game ready to start and I thought I was starting.

'When I got to the stadium, the manager told me I wasn't starting, which you can imagine I didn't like very much, but that's his decision.

'The team played great, but saying I didn't want to play in the biggest game of my career is absolute nonsense.'

Gordon then addressed Rooney's claims about ignoring handshakes on his way into the stadium.

He added: 'I think it was Rooney that said I walked past and didn't shake their hands, but then went in the changing room.

'I got changed by myself in a changing room the size of this. It was just me and a sink. So it was complete nonsense, and I think they need to do better at what they are doing.'

Gordon was introduced off the bench in the 67th minute as Newcastle drew 1-1 with Barcelona

Gordon's sentiments had been shared by Howe at his pre-match conference ahead of the Chelsea match.

He had said: 'I do have to clear something up with Anthony Gordon. He was absolutely willing to play in the game against Barcelona.

'I know there's a lot of comments. It was my decision not to start him based on the fact that he'd been ill that morning and hadn't attended the training session.

'He was prepared to play, but in consultation with the medical team, he didn't think he was fit to play.'

The Newcastle boss then later praised the forward in the aftermath of the victory at Stamford Bridge as he added: 'He's so single-minded and focused on what he needs to do that a lot of the noise just brushes off him, which is a great thing to be able to do if you're him.

'I'd encourage every player to do it. Don't get distracted, don't absorb it, don't take anything in - just focus on what you need to do.

'That's what he always does. He's been in a really good place of late. I've been very happy with what he's delivered. This was a big game and he really stepped up. He scored the goal but contributed in so many ways to the win.'

Saturday's victory left Newcastle in ninth place in the Premier League, just six points off Chelsea in fifth.

The Magpies return to action on Wednesday in the second leg of the Barcelona clash, before they entertain Sunderland ahead of the international break.