Eddie Howe insists his Newcastle side are going to the San Siro to win, revealing that our 1-0 victory over Brentford has injected some much needed positivity back into the squad.
Speaking to the press ahead of Tuesday night’s clash with AC Milan, he explained how ‘immensely proud’ he’ll be to lead the players out as the Champions League music belts around one of Europe’s most iconic arenas.
He’s ‘excited’ for his squad and supporters, believing it’ll be a ‘great moment’ for us all. However, he’s not going there to just take part, stressing that we’re there to ‘show our best version of ourselves’ and to ‘try and win’ after weeks of preparation.
Here’s what the 45-year-old had to say ahead of tomorrow’s 5.45pm kick-off in Milan:
“I think we will enjoy it a little bit more because we have won. There is some positivity returning to the squad. The players need to be able to play with freedom to be at their best.
“The crowd did their best to help us to do that against Brentford, they understood our position and our start to the season. We are really pleased we could repay their faith in us with a win. And that means Tuesday’s game looks like a different game for us, hopefully one we can enjoy. But, as ever, we are going there to show our best version of ourselves and to try and win.
“I will be immensely proud to lead the team out. I’m excited for the players, I’m excited for the supporters. It’s going to be a great moment for us all.
“A lot of our work has to be done in preparation before now. You can’t suddenly switch on to Milan with two days’ notice. We have been working on different things and increasing our workload in preparation.
“That’s the beauty of the international break, you have two weeks to prepare, not for one game but for a lot of games coming in this run. Hopefully we can get that right.”
