Eddie Howe has hailed his players and praised the Toon Army after his Newcastle Unites side secured a return to the Champions League on Monday night.
He’s paid tribute to the mentality of his squad, saying we could only ‘dream’ of a top-four finish when the season kicked off. The boss expects a ‘tough summer’ – where we’ll look to recruit carefully once again – and revealed how grateful he was to be in charge at St James’ Park.
It wasn’t a classic in the end, not that it mattered! Leicester put men behind the ball, bidding to stay in it after conceding eight in their last two, but we went in at the break wondering how we weren’t ahead, as a surge of late pressure saw Wilson and Almiron both hit the woodwork.
In the second half, we continued to create half chances and hit the woodwork again, but a 0-0 didn’t matter as celebrations followed at the full-time whistle.
Here’s some of the best bits from Howe’s chat with Neville and Carragher after the game, starting with his immediate reaction:
“A big relief actually. An amazing night. The reaction has been incredible.
“The target this season wasn’t top four. We did not feel we were ready, after last season’s battle with relegation. Of course, you always dream.
“The mentality, what the lads have given me, I cannot praise them enough. Incredible.
“There is a very small pool of players for us to recruit from, this might be our toughest transfer window.
“Carabao Cup final maybe took our focus from the Premier League.
“The players have seen the fruits of their labour and that has helped us keep them focused.We don’t want to do things too differently (in the next few seasons).
“Keeping Bournemouth in the league when I started out was big for me and the club but this is on a different scale media-wise and I am so grateful for the opportunity to manage here.
“We had to show the fan base that we are giving everything every single game. Supporters have been incredible, they have galvanised the players.
“You don’t just want to be happy to participate, you want to succeed. This is great, but there is no trophy for it, and we want to bring silverware here.”
About Olly Hawkins
As a Junior Magpie since birth and season ticket holder, I eat, sleep and breathe all things NUFC! Here at the blog, I aim to bring you news, views, match reports and transfer exclusives as and when I get them.
