Eddie Howe has defended his decision to start Nick Pope in Sunday’s 4-3 win over Nottingham Forest and made some big claims about the former Burnley man. 

Martin Dubravka has been the starting goalkeeper since the Magpies 4-0 win over Leicester on December 14, but was dropped on Sunday as Pope made his first league start since returning from the knee injury that opened the door for the Slovakian.

Many felt it was harsh to drop Dubravka who had done little to warrant the change, and that call was questioned when Pope’s starting position for Forest’s opening goal allowed Callum Hudson-Odoi to pick his spot from range.

Howe makes strong case for Nick Pope

Howe sang the praises of Pope during Tuesday morning’s press conference, not just for the near two-metre ‘keepers’ ability between the sticks but also for what he brings to the dressing room.

Howe went as far as saying he might be THE best shot stopper in the league, jumping to his defence after Sunday’s recall.

Pope, a gentle giant by all accounts, is a positive professional in the dressing room and, by the sounds of it, a favourite of the manager who said: “For me, he’s one of the best shot-stoppers, if not THE best shot-stopper in the Premier League. He is a big presence — obviously in size but also personality.

“He’s well liked within the squad, a very humble person and works extremely hard. He’s always had the ability, historically, to make big saves. We’re certainly going to need them in the coming weeks.”

In my view, the reaction to Pope getting the nod over Dubravka in the approach to kick-off on Sunday afternoon wasn’t a slight on the former Burnley man, more that the Slovakian was hard done by.

Nevertheless, there were positives to pick from Pope’s performance against Forest. His much criticised distribution did on one occasion see him pass the ball out directly to Morgan Gibbs-White, but his quick throw out directly started the counter that led to our fourth.

Dubravka backed – but Howe defends call

Dubravka will react well to his surprise omission against Forest and continue to compete for starting opportunities, according to Howe.

The 36-year-old signed a new contract on Thursday to commit his future to Tyneside after he was convinced not to move to Saudi Arabia in January, before being promptly dropped for the weekend’s game.

“Of course I had a conversation with Martin (about taking him out of the side). It’s always difficult because every player wants to play and I have many difficult conversations with many players on a regular basis and that’s part of my job.

“But Martin’s a top professional and he will respond in the right way.”

It seems the decision led to the disgruntlement of Dubravka’s spouse. His wife, Lucia, posted a photo of St. James’ Park to her Instagram story on Sunday captioned “nothing in life is fair.” Howe, not necessarily directly in response to that post, has commented on having to make unpopular calls.

“If you are after popularity, then don’t become a football manager,” said Howe. “Because you have to make tough decisions and upset people and that is the last thing that I want to do on a personal level, disappoint them or upset them but I am in the position where I have to do that on a daily basis, a weekly basis.

“I can only pick 11 and I have a squad of 20 at the moment that train regularly. I have had some really tough calls on players that I really admire and really like that aren’t playing.

“That is the level of squad I have, all I ask is that the players accept the decision and then try to force their way back in.”