Newcastle vs. Leicester - Eddie Howe: Pre-Match Press Conference

Newcastle United host Leicester City at St James’ Park on Saturday with both sides looking to stabilize inconsistent campaigns in the Premier League.

Eddie Howe’s Magpies are winless in four league matches—most recently suffering a ridiculous 4-2 defeat at Brentford—leaving them 12th in the table.

Leicester, now managed by rookie coach Ruud van Nistelrooy, is showing signs of a revival but is far from putting together anything close to a competitive run of results. They have collected four points from their last two games, however, which is definitely not a bad start for the new man in charge.

Newcastle’s performances against stronger sides like Arsenal and Liverpool have been commendable, but their struggles against lower-ranked opponents, such as West Ham and Brentford, have raised concerns and painted a picture of NUFC that seems to have the team playing down to the level of the competition and suffering from it.

Callum Wilson will be sidelined for the next two months but on the positive side of things Joe Willock faces a late fitness test with a high probability of at least making the gameday squad. Kieran Trippier, Sandro Tonali, and Anthony Gordon are likely to return to the starting XI.

Here are some of Howe’s Wisdom Nuggets, courtesy of NUFC.co.uk

On Nick Pope’s fitness...

“He’s carried a knee injury this week. Initially we thought it was nothing, so I think he’s seeking some specialist opinion today and then we’ll see if he’s available tomorrow.”

On other squad members’ availability for the game...

“Joe Willock, we haven’t seen train yet but he’s making good progress.

“And Lewis Miley has come through a couple of really good games for his continued return, and he’s looking really good, so I’m pleased with him.”

On Sven Botman’s ongoing rehabilitation from a knee injury...

“He’s been training for a while - he’s been training consistently for around four weeks. But that was the plan. We are taking medical advice and following the right protocols for the injury he’s had to try and make sure we give him the best chance to stay fit.

“The plan is late December, very early January at the earliest that we will be available for the first team.”

On Callum Wilson’s recent setback...

“Really feel for Callum. We see the work, the dedication and professionalism that he’s shown. You have to understand how difficult this season has been for him. “He’s had a couple of setbacks when he’s looked so close to training regularly. He’s not cut corners, he’s gone through a vigorous process to keep himself fit.

“When you see him not get the end result this time, I feel really sad for him but I back him to come back again and have the mental resilience he’s need to fight again and fight hard, because we know his qualities. We’re desperate to see him play in a Newcastle shirt again and score goals.”

On what this week has been like following the defeat at Brentford...

“It’s been a good training week for us this week - a lot of returning to basics. The fundamentals of our performance weren’t quite right against Brentford. Basically our mentality to defend our goal wasn’t there - when you concede four goals in any game, there’s issues.

“We look back at those goals individually and it’s not the cohesive defending that we’ve been used to really this season. We’ve been OK defensively, but the last two games obviously have conceded seven goals. That’s something we’ve needed to reflect on, we’ve worked on, and hopefully that will show.”

On dealing with pressure...

“You can never escape pressure - I think it’s always there at a club of this size. But I think how you interpret that and handle that is always individual. For me, I always surround myself with my work - whether we win, lose or draw, it doesn’t really change. The focus of the work might change, or what we need to do might change, but the work ethic and the standards I demand of myself is always there.

“Of course, when you don’t perform in the way you want you’re seeking solutions and you’re seeking a better way of working, so we’re always in pursuit of that regardless of results. I think you’re aware of conversations and topics and themes and what people might be saying, but I certainly don’t indulge myself in absorbing any of them.”

Howay!

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