- 11 months ago
Eddie Howe happy his Newcastle side have Champions League opportunity to bounce back
30/09/2025
uefa25 champions league
30/09/2025
uefa25 champions league
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00:00Thank you, guys.
00:02Hi, guys.
00:14Yeah, yeah, yeah.
00:22Hey, bro.
00:24You okay?
00:26Thanks, George.
00:32Okay, good afternoon, everyone.
00:34Thanks for joining us. First, we'll have Eddie Howe,
00:36we'll have Joel Linton with you in around 15 minutes' time.
00:38If you have a question, please get my attention
00:40and we'll come to you in order.
00:42Who wants to start us off?
00:46Dominic?
00:48How was the journey here?
00:50How was your squad shaping up tomorrow night?
00:52Yeah, journey was good.
00:54It was a very quick flight for us.
00:58We'll train this afternoon.
01:00Oh, yeah.
01:02Just after this press conference.
01:04And the squad is in a pretty good place.
01:07Yeah, we're minus Tino Livramento.
01:10We're still awaiting feedback on the extent of his injury.
01:14But I think apart from that, we're okay.
01:19We're going to Jordan next year.
01:20And then to Lee, just behind you.
01:21Jordan?
01:22Any early indication on Tino's injuries at the long-term,
01:24medium-term, short-term?
01:26No, I think I'm better off waiting
01:30before sort of giving any indication on that
01:34because I think that could be a mistake.
01:36So, yeah, let's wait and see in the next couple of days, I think.
01:40You rested Mick Baltimore after the first Champions League game against Barcelona.
01:44A fortnight on.
01:45Is he able to physically now to play two games and four years?
01:48We'll make a decision after training today on how all the players look physically.
01:53Arsenal was another really physical game for us.
01:58Tough game.
01:59Mentally, of course.
02:00But physically, it was a big output game for us.
02:04So, we'll try and make the right decisions in terms of team selection
02:07to make sure everyone's fresh.
02:08Okay, we've got Lee Ryder just behind.
02:11Eddie, I know you'll take it with a pinch of salt,
02:14the comments from Bayern Munich about Nick.
02:16But are you surprised the club of that stature
02:19just seem to be queuing up to make comments about his price tag?
02:25I always think with these types of things it's irrelevant really.
02:29The market forces dictate transfer fees,
02:33not necessarily any one club.
02:37We're very pleased to have Nick with us.
02:39I think he started very strongly in what's been a difficult period for him
02:42because he's thrust straight into action.
02:44No training time with us really, of any note.
02:49And I think he's done really, really well.
02:50So, we're really pleased to have him with us.
02:52And the transfer fee for me is absolutely irrelevant.
02:54And he's also got off to a really good start as well with two goals, the two headers.
03:00Yeah, great to see him score with his head.
03:01I mean, he is, you know, as I said when we signed him, we know he's a big player.
03:07And that has to be a source of goals for him with the height that he brings.
03:11And it's something that we feel or felt we could really improve.
03:15But the two headers are all his own work and he deserves the praise for them
03:18because they're two, you know, outstanding moments.
03:20And it shows that hopefully once the team services him and gives him, you know,
03:25better balls in and around the box, there's other ways he can score as well.
03:28But that's certainly a promising start.
03:30Go to Matthew Raisbeck and then to George Colkin.
03:32Matthew.
03:33Hi, Eddie.
03:34What are the benefits to training here on the pitch ahead of tomorrow's game?
03:38Because two seasons ago, you didn't do that for a couple of your Champions League group matches.
03:43Yeah, I think it all depends on lots of different things like the journey time,
03:47how we feel about the certain training sessions, how much we want to sort of give away on our preparation.
03:56We felt coming here that getting to know our surroundings was more important.
04:00So I think it will be an important training session for us today with the pitch and the stadium.
04:05And travel time has been minimal.
04:07So we've got here early, we'll be settled and hopefully that will help our performance.
04:11And what do you know about Union Sanju Owas who are new to the Champions League
04:15but won their first match and are having a really good season domestically too?
04:20Yeah, well, I know exactly that.
04:21They've started the season very, very strongly and a great result in the Champions League,
04:26as you say, against PSV.
04:27They're tactically interesting.
04:32They'll give us a physical threat as well.
04:35They've got two big strikers.
04:37Yeah, I've been very impressed by watching them play.
04:40We know it will be a really important game in our Champions League journey.
04:44But it's going to be a tough one.
04:47I'll go to George and then to Greg in the front, please.
04:49Hi, Eddie.
04:50Hi.
04:51Is this beginning to feel like your level now?
04:54Well, we certainly feel in our first game, if you're looking back at the Barcelona game,
05:03we felt we gave a really good performance but ended up with nothing and a disappointing result.
05:09The similarities between that and the Premier League start for us where we feel we've been really competitive
05:15and have left certain games with less than I feel we've deserved.
05:19So I feel we're competitive.
05:21We're enjoying, I think, the build-up now.
05:24We're used to it from two years ago.
05:26There's nothing that really is going to hopefully surprise us in that sense.
05:29And I think that can only help us then hopefully perform at a better level.
05:34Craig at the front.
05:36Hi, Eddie.
05:37It's one of the nicer problems you've got at the moment, but Sven Bottmann and Dan Byrne both being fit and both being in good form.
05:44But they also want to play in the same position.
05:46How do you accommodate that to you, as you did on Sunday?
05:49Do you put down the left back?
05:50Can you play the two of them together, even though that puts Sven to the right?
05:53Can you play three?
05:54Or does it come to the point where you've actually just for the big game,
05:57got to pick one of them?
05:58Just talk us through that dilemma you've got with two good players.
06:01I can do all of those things that you mentioned, Craig.
06:04You've summed it up.
06:05I don't have to answer that.
06:08Pick one.
06:09Well, I will have to, won't I?
06:11And you'll see that tomorrow.
06:12But I think it's a great problem to have in a sense that you've got two outstanding players that bring different qualities,
06:19but both perform and have performed very strongly.
06:23I just think talking about both players, it's great to see Sven back to the form that we know he's capable of.
06:27And he's such a big player in terms of ball distribution and helping us elevate our game to another level.
06:34I think when he's in his best moment, he was fundamentally important to our rise two years ago.
06:41And Dan's just been, in every sense, a giant for us.
06:44And his leadership skills are invaluable to us.
06:48So Dan's played left-back for us a lot.
06:51And even in a lot of games this year, although we haven't started him in that position,
06:56he's ended up playing there because of how we've pressed or how we've tactically built our game.
07:00So I'm comfortable with all of those options and no doubt I'll use all of them through the season.
07:06We've spent the last two years talking about the midfield.
07:09As you well know, it seems this year's discussion point is perhaps going to be the wingers and their contribution as well.
07:14Where do you think the four of them are at in terms of their own form and how they're gelling with Nick?
07:21Or not gelling with Nick, just talk to us about the wingers because there isn't a debate around those four at the moment and their form.
07:28Yeah, I think you'd have to go down to each individual player to give a full description and obviously I'm not going to do that.
07:35I think it's been a bit of a stop-start for all of them.
07:38I don't think there's been much fluency for any of the four.
07:42So I think that will be the challenge for them to bring their best performances.
07:46They're so important because they all bring something slightly different.
07:49They've all got unique qualities but they're all going to play a massive part throughout the season.
07:54We need them firing, we need them firing in terms of goal scoring, goal creating.
07:59And ultimately, if you play with wingers, as we have done historically, if they're not performing, they hurt the system.
08:05So that's something that we really need to focus on.
08:08Thanks, Greg.
08:09Go to Scott Wilson and then to Mark Douglas in the middle.
08:11Scott?
08:12Is Fabian available, Eddie?
08:14Yeah, he's back in the squad.
08:15He's back in here in the squad.
08:17And we talked at the weekend about the start and how in a lot of games you probably haven't really quite got what you deserve
08:23and it's felt a bit up and down because of that.
08:26Maybe an obvious thing to say, but is tomorrow night a game when really the result is, you know,
08:33yes, get a performance, but are we getting towards the stage where winning a game is going to be important?
08:39Yeah, winning is the be all and end all and it's never been lost to me as a manager.
08:46You can play as well as you want, but you have to try and win and you have to try and find a way to win in all types of performance.
08:53And we've done that well for the last few years.
08:56And I think in terms of our Champions League campaign, it is important that we do that very, very quickly.
09:01Otherwise, we're going to leave ourselves too far to come and it will be the same in the Premier League.
09:05So I think the players know that they're not inexperienced.
09:10They've got really experienced group that have been through a lot together.
09:14And we know that the ultimate thing that we're judged on is how many points we get.
09:19Thanks, Scott. Mark Douglas then to Damian Spellman.
09:22Eddie, last time in the Champions League, you came very close to winning an away game, but it was obviously didn't quite manage it.
09:29Is it the kind of next level to win an away game in the Champions League?
09:34Does it demand a little bit more of you as a team than it may be in the Premier League?
09:41Yeah, I think winning away is as much psychological as anything else.
09:46And I think there is a step to go in any competition to do that.
09:50And I think that is what really elevates you because then when you return home, you feel lifted from that.
09:57You know, away performances and results are so important to your psychology.
10:01It's not lost on us. We know that our away form...
10:04It's a strange one because actually we've been very competitive away this year in the Premier League
10:08without the sort of the X factor that we've had historically,
10:12where you sort of feel a goal's coming or a moment's coming at any second.
10:16I haven't felt that when I've watched this, but we've been really, really resilient and defensively so strong.
10:21So I back us with the players that we have that those moments will come back.
10:26A lot of that is confidence-linked, I think.
10:29But we need to start making that happen. We can't think it's going to happen.
10:33The whole group has to have that galvanising effect on each other.
10:37Can I just ask quickly about Nick Pope as well?
10:39He received a little bit of criticism for the quick kick and obviously the corner, but he was outstanding on Sunday.
10:45Is he OK and you kind of had a chance to speak to him?
10:48The life of a goalkeeper, eh?
10:50I mean, it's incredible because that would be one of the best performances from a goalkeeper I've seen
10:56up until that point, really.
10:58And, of course, everyone will critique certain moments and certain decisions.
11:04I think we have to reflect that his actions in that moment are trying to help us win the game.
11:09And, of course, things happen in football that you look back on and think,
11:13well, maybe I'd have made a different decision.
11:14But, same as when you're in my shoes, you don't play with hindsight.
11:18You play with your decision-making in that moment with the information that you have.
11:22I back Nick, I thought he was magnificent on Sunday.
11:26Damien?
11:27Hi, Eddie.
11:28You had three very difficult away games in this competition two years ago.
11:31How have they prepared you for tomorrow night and how does tomorrow's challenge compare?
11:36Yeah, I think that's a good point.
11:39The away games that we experienced, I think, made us a better team
11:42to go back to the Premier League with Milan, Dortmund and Paris.
11:45I mean, you don't get much harder in European competition,
11:48but I think in all of those games we were really competitive again.
11:51And I think we took that back into our domestic form and grew from it,
11:55even though they weren't wins.
11:57I think now we're judged slightly differently.
12:00I think the expectation is slightly different.
12:02And I think this will be a good challenge for us at a time in the season
12:04where we know we need to perform.
12:07Just relating to Scott's question,
12:10you have had some disappointing results this season,
12:13but to give it context, Liverpool, Barcelona, Arsenal,
12:17two of them in storage time, does that give it context?
12:22Yeah, I can say it gives context, but I know you guys won't...
12:25There's two ways of looking at it.
12:27You might sort of agree to that, but then ultimately we've lost the games
12:32and lost games that we don't plan to lose or expect to lose ourselves.
12:37So our expectations of ourselves are higher than that.
12:41And I think we have to push the group for more
12:43and our expectations of ourselves have to be of the highest form.
12:46Otherwise we will never grow and we'll never step forward.
12:48So we will pinpoint stuff we can do better.
12:52We will expect us to deliver better.
12:54And I think that's a healthy expectation to put on the team.
12:57Okay. Demian, just to your right place, to Kieran.
13:01Good afternoon.
13:03Obviously the manner of the defeat to Arsenal could be a danger of a hangover.
13:06Have you sensed the players are kind of desperate to get going again?
13:10Yeah, I don't necessarily feel that in a sense of a hangover.
13:14I think for me it should be a motivator.
13:17It should be a...
13:19If you could replay those moments again, we would have to do better as a group
13:23and respond better to the threat that we faced in those final few minutes.
13:28The game hinged on, as it always does, on big moments.
13:31And there's other sort of moments happening in the game that I could say,
13:35well, we were slightly unlucky with this or that.
13:38But ultimately we needed to do better in those last few minutes.
13:42And that in the end would have probably been a very good point to take forward into this game.
13:46But it didn't happen.
13:47And yeah, as I say, we have to use that as motivation now to go again, regroup and come back stronger.
13:53We've seen players historically maybe get weighed down by the price tag.
13:57It doesn't seem to have affected Walter Madden.
13:59No, I don't think he's that kind of character.
14:01I don't think he necessarily overthinks things too much, which is a really big strength.
14:08I think it's...
14:10Look, whatever we've paid for him is irrelevant.
14:13It's going to be...
14:15What he's going to be judged on is how he performs in the team
14:17and what he gives to the club going forward.
14:20So I would urge any footballer to try and dust that off.
14:24But it's easier said than done because I've seen players myself
14:27be weighed down by either the fee or the expectation.
14:31But he's very relaxed.
14:33It looks like he's enjoying his football, enjoying being here.
14:36And ultimately that's key.
14:38Finish with the two gents on the front row.
14:39Good afternoon.
14:40In your name-wise, isn't the biggest team in the Champions League?
14:43In the past as well, a lot of teams have underestimated them.
14:46How will you avoid that happening to your side as well?
14:49Yeah, we certainly don't underestimate anybody.
14:52And I think that comes down to fundamentally our reviewing of our opponents,
14:58which I'll do personally as I always do.
15:02And it's a case of judging strengths and weaknesses
15:04and then figuring out a way to try and be competitive in the game
15:07and ultimately win.
15:08But I think for any team to be at this level and to be top of their league
15:12and playing in the way that they are, demand respect.
15:17Full credit to everyone connected with the club.
15:19It's been a dramatic rise and sustained success.
15:23It's not been just one season.
15:25You know, they were knocking on the door to win the league,
15:27then they've won the league and now are deservedly in the Champions League.
15:31So, no, we'll be fully focused and fully ready.
15:34Martin to finish.
15:35Hi, Eddie.
15:38Are Newcastle United a Champions League club now?
15:41And if so, what's the next step?
15:44Well, we're a Champions League club for this season.
15:47Whether that goes into next year, time will tell.
15:51I think we will enjoy this experience.
15:57We will try to evolve and improve.
16:00But ultimately we want to, and I said this right at the start,
16:03we want to progress into the next stage of the competition.
16:06So, we're not necessarily looking at, are we a Champions League club?
16:09You know, going into the future,
16:12it's about trying to make the most of this moment right in front of us.
16:15And is it your first time at this ground?
16:17And is there a different element that it's not Union's home ground?
16:20Yeah, it's my first time here.
16:22Yeah, obviously we've had time to prepare and think about that.
16:26But ultimately it will still be a very home-based crowd.
16:30And I'm sure they'll be very supportive to them.
16:34So, I don't see a lot really that changes from a normal away game for us.
16:39We'll have our following with us and I'm sure they'll be amazing as they always are.
16:43And I think it's up to us to get them involved in the game.
16:46And last one, you touched upon it there.
16:48How impressed have you been with what they've done here at this football club?
16:51Yeah, it's amazing.
16:52I mean, sustained success is very difficult in any league.
16:56Obviously very well-run and well-managed.
17:00The recruitment's been very good.
17:03You have to get all those things right for the dramatic rise that they've had.
17:07Yeah, and full credit to everyone here.
17:10Thanks, everyone.
17:11That concludes this part of the press conference.
17:12You'll be joined by Joel Litton very shortly.
17:14Thanks very much.
17:15Nice to see you all.
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