What Eddie Howe said after bonkers night - Press conference footage and key quotes

A simply ridiculous night under the lights at St James Park saw us defeat Leeds United 4-3 in what will be remembered as a truly chaotic Premier League classic.

It’s a game that had almost everything, both good and bad for us: a hero in Barnes, a torrid time for Thiaw, more Bruno brilliance, late drama, some terrible refereeing and injury luck.

Here’s what Eddie Howe had to say after one of the games of the season finally came to a close…

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Z3rDRLmCH-0&pp=ugUEEgJlbg%3D%3D

On Entertainers-esque display

It was only fitting that, considering the news concerning Kevin Keegan on Wednesday evening, that we were treat to such a rollercoaster of a game that was commonplace during Keegan’s tenure as manager.

Whilst probably not the scoreline Howe would have been expecting or hoping for at the start of the match, even he felt that the game was a fitting tribute to Keegan’s trailblazing ways.

"That team he (Keegan) created was incredibly special and is still talked. For what it achieved, how it played and how it entertained everyone. 

“We're always trying to be that team, we want the supporters on the edge of their seats. Today was us at our thrilling best without playing at our best.

"The news before the game shook us all up. Kevin is a truly iconic person. We want to pay tribute to him and send him all our love.

“I said to the players after the game, I don't want to talk about any negatives, it wasn't our finest performance but I want to focus on the positives.

On another vital January win

Despite our inconsistent performances throughout the campaign, we currently find ourselves 6th in the Premier League table, just two points behind Liverpool in 4th place.

And with some even bigger games coming up, the three points won tonight could be very, very important further down the line.

“The comeback win, we haven't done that, the late winner, the unity, the never-say-die spirit. That win will do us the world of good. Three massive games for our Premier League season.

"The win at Burnley was huge for us, we needed to get some solidity. Leeds played very well tonight, we're under no illusions they're a tough team, seven unbeaten. The drive the players had to be successful was huge.”

On long-awaited comeback win

Until tonight, we had recorded zero points from losing positions in the Premier League, as we have all too often thrown away leads against the likes of Chelsea and Spurs.

But Howe and the team finally got to experience a comeback win of our own, coming from behind three times to topple Leeds in a game that Howe himself found hard to explain.

“It’s difficult to sum it up in a few words. It was one of those classic games here where I don’t think we were at our best, but we showed great character, we kept fighting, and always believed we’ve got goals in us.

“It turned our way at the end, which is a rare thing for us. We haven’t done it enough this season, especially, we’ve gone the other way and lost points from late in the game, so it’s great to go the other way today.

“It wasn’t a perfect performance, there’s stuff to reflect and improve, but the mentality is the key thing in everything and if you’re losing, you need that ‘never say die’ spirit, especially with the attacking players we’ve got.”

On Harvey Barnes’ goalscoring heroics

Harvey Barnes is proving himself to be quite fond of a game winning goal since his arrival from Leicester, with tonight being one of his finest displays in a black and white shirt.

Starting out of position, the winger grabbed our first and fourth goals of the evening, and has certainly staked his claim to be a starter moving forward.

“I’m delighted for Harvey to score the winning goal. It’s a great moment for him, he’s done it before for us, but he deserves it.

“Our plan is to try and attack like that all the time but of course there’s two teams trying to do the same thing.

“I want to free the players up, I want them to express themselves in the best way possible, we’ve got some great attackers and creative players here so confidence is key and that should lift it.”