Eddie Howe reacts - Full quotes on 4-3 win, Al-Rumayyan, Miley and European push
After a 4-3 win over high-flying Nottingham Forest, Eddie Howe has praised his Newcastle side for securing all three points despite a “difficult” second half, discussed our push for Europe and Yasir Al-Rumayyan's appearance at St James' Park.
After Callum Hudson-Odoi opened the scoring for the visitors, four goals in 11 minutes from the Magpies looked to have sealed the win before half time.
But Forest fought back to 4-3, before Newcastle just about held on to move back into the Champions League qualification spots.
How on today’s win and team performance
Speaking to the media after the game, Howe expressed his relief about the result and commented on the end-to-end quality of the tie.
“That was as good as we played I think in a long time in that first period: dynamic, energetic, quality, fluid. Yeah I really liked us. And everything I liked in that first half went out the window in the second half, for some reason we performed really poorly.”
“It was pivotal the crowd were with us - I think they’ve very intelligent, they could see we were playing well actually and there was no reason to be negative.”
“Lewis (Miley) scores a great goal, a big moment, and that then swings the momentum then the atmosphere in our favour. From that period onwards, we were devastating, and that’s us at our very best: scoring goals in clusters and playing with the freedom that we know we can.”
“The elation which you feel for a split-second on some of the performance in that first half, the pride you see in the players doing well is then counteracted with all the feelings that the supporters feel, really, watching that game.”
“You feel you have control on the sideline, but the reality is it’s very difficult to influence the game in the way that you want to, so yes, a bit of love and hate in there. But ultimately again taking the bigger picture, we’ve won the game, as difficult as that second half was.”
Howe on the fight for Champions League football
Following Newcastle’s win, boosted by defeats to a number of the teams around them, Eddie Howe’s side now find themselves level on points with Manchester City in fifth place and just three points behind Forest.
With five English teams poised to qualify for this year’s Champions League, Howe is expecting there to be a tough battle amongst many clubs as we approach the business end of the season.
“I think there’s a host of teams that will have that feeling (that they can qualify). We’re in there fighting and I back us if we’re fighting and showing our best qualities, as we did in that first half.”
“We’ll hopefully be there towards the end fighting and competing for that place, but nothing is guaranteed. It’s such a competitive league this year and you can see that from our recent home games.”
Howe on Al-Rumayyan's attendance
PIF Governor and Club Chairman Yasir Al-Rumayyan was in attendance for today’s win, having reportedly been in Tyneside to discuss potential new stadium plans.
Howe commented that he has briefly spoken with Al-Rumayyan after the final whistle, saying: “I spoke to him very briefly after the game, just for 10 or 15 seconds before coming to see you. I'm not 100% sure (why he was in attendance), it was just good to see him.”
“He was in the same emotional state as I was about the game, so it was a nice moment. He's very invested in the football club, he's on top of everything. It was definitely great to see him.”
Howe on Miley’s star performance
Whilst Lewis Hall received the nod for Player of the Match, Lewis Miley was perhaps the most impressive player in black and white today, marking his return to the starting XI with the equaliser and another exceptional performance from the teenager.
Speaking on Miley’s game, Howe heaped praise on the youngster. “Yeah, especially in the first half, it mirrored the team really.”
“He was good with the ball, he was attacking a lot. Of course he scored the goal but he was central to a lot of the good connections we had in the team.”
