Howe reveals Newcastle "dream", fitness update and rotation stance ahead Carabao Cup clash
Speaking to the press this morning, Eddie Howe has offered an update on the fitness front and discussed tomorrow night's Carabao Cup clash at St James' Park.
With Crystal Palace coming to town for the third round tie, Howe has revealed that it remains a "dream" of his to win a trophy for Newcastle United, insisting that he and his players are taking cup competitions very seriously.
He accepts that some rotation is likely, with certain players "eager to play", but it looks like Kieran Trippier is fit to play, with Callum Wilson facing a late fitness test.
Wilson remains "a little bit run down" and will be assessed today, while any fears over Trippier's hamstring have been dismissed by Howe. Elsewhere, there's no fresh injury concern, so it was a pretty positive update on the fitness front.
Here's what what Howe had to say on all of the above, starting with his strong message to fans ahead of tomorrow's Carabao Cup tie.
Howe on the importance of cup competitions:
"In every competition we enter, we want to try and give the best presentation of ourselves. I said very early days here that my dream is to try and win something for Newcastle and that hasn't changed.
"We want to win, we want to progress and we're ambitious that we can dream and dream big. That's what I've tried to encourage at the football club and the players have embraced that. They mirror my thoughts.
"There's no dead games here. Every competition is huge."
Howe on Callum Wilson:
"He's OK. He's been ill for a few days so he's a little bit run down but we'll see how he is again today."
Howe on Kieran Trippier:
"There's no problems with Kieran. It always looks more than it is when the physio comes onto the pitch but he came out second-half and he was fine.
"As I said after the game it was my decision to take him off."
Howe on potential rotation:
"We have a lot of players that are eager to play and show their qualities.
"We have a tight turnaround with three games in six days so we'll try and make the right call for the team while acknowledging that we're desperate to progress.
"I have to make those choices and get the balance of the team right."
