Eddie Howe has urged his Newcastle United players to play without fear, enjoy every moment and ’embrace the challenge’ as we head into the final 12 games of the season.
April promises to be a busy and defining month in the top-four battle, seeing us play SEVEN games in 28 days:
- ◉ Man United (H) – April 2nd
- ◎ West Ham (A) – April 5th
- ◎ Brentford (A) – April 8th
- ◎ Aston Villa (A) – April 15th
- ◉ Tottenham (H) – April 23rd
- ◎ Everton (A) – April 27th
- ◉ Southampton (H) – April 30th
Speaking about this hectic run of fixtures, Howe admitted the next 28 days will ‘really define what we achieve this season’, but encouraged his players to embrace the occasion, believing back-to-back wins has only boosted our confidence and improved our position in the table ahead of today’s crucial clash with Man Utd. Here’s what he had to say when asked if we can secure a top-four finish:
“Why not? Let’s try to enjoy it and relish every moment and embrace the challenge, rather than fear where we are.
“I think we are where we are on merit at the moment – and we want more.
“It’s a massive month. This will really define what we achieve this season. The last two results have put us in a strong position and lifted confidence levels and morale within the squad.
“We have Manchester United first, need to focus on that alone, analyse that cup-final defeat and learn from that. We’ve tried to take the emotion out of it and look to improve.“
