- 3 months ago
Eddie Howe on Newcastle latest ahead of Champions League visit of Benfica
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00:00good afternoon welcome back to st. James's Park ahead of tomorrow's match
00:12with Benfica if you have a question for Eddie please raise your hand and get my
00:17attention we'll come to you in order if the questions in Portuguese please use
00:21the headsets provided for the simultaneous translation to get us
00:25underway first. How are the lads feeling after the weekend? I know you were
00:33disappointed with the first-half performance this game's come around really
00:37quickly though does it give you an opportunity to make up for that yeah I
00:42think I said similar after the Arsenal game we feel like we need another game
00:48where we're delighted to play quickly and try and build momentum back in our
00:52performance I felt reflecting on the Brighton game was mixed so a lot of good
00:56in the game ultimately it doesn't matter we lost the game and we know we need to
01:02improve and how are you looking in terms of availability of players for this game
01:06notice there was no Sandro training this morning is there an issue over him yeah a
01:10bit of illness with Sandro so he'll be touch and go for the game okay I mean to
01:15miss him I guess would be a huge blow will you give him every opportunity yeah we'll
01:20give him every opportunity I think yeah he wasn't there obviously at training today
01:26and he's such an important player so yeah we'll use all the hours we have
01:30Hi Eddie Jose Mourinho has been such an important figure in the Premier League
01:35have you followed his career post Premier League and how do you think he's
01:39evolved as a manager? It's difficult when you're in work to do too much
01:45following of other people and clubs I think a someone that I hugely admire having
01:51come up against him before in the Premier League and I think as a younger coach
01:57really admired the teams that he built at Chelsea in particular I thought
02:04definitely a visionary someone that broke the mold really in terms of how you
02:08manage and different ways to do things and then following his success through
02:12different clubs different leagues incredible really what he what he's
02:16achieved in his career so I think it's always a great opportunity for for any
02:22club to go up against one of his his teams and yeah looking forward to the
02:27challenge immensely and I think it's going to be a great game I know you've had
02:30the international break but you've had players that have travelled a long
02:32distance you've had you know a tough game at Brighton you've got all these games
02:36coming up is there something about being under the lights on a Tuesday evening with that
02:41crowd that could kind of give you that boost that perhaps the players might need to
02:45get going again after the break and after the Brighton game yeah I think it's a
02:49great opportunity for us to use that as a stimulus we love these games I mean
02:54the Barcelona game here was it was so close for us it could have been a very
02:59very different outcome and it feels that we've been in that position a lot this
03:01season where the results could have gone either way we've been very
03:05competitive we were competitive that night as a similar type feel under lights
03:09here the atmosphere will be electric I've got no doubt I hope our performances a
03:14performance mirrors that crowd energy that we're going to get and I think if
03:19we're our very best you know we have a good chance thank you Damian Spellman
03:25Eddie you had some early success in your your meetings with GLC how what your
03:31memories of those games over the years yeah just the great games I think any
03:38Premier League win I always said to you guys any Premier League win is savored
03:43regardless of where you are is it's so difficult to do it in the Premier League
03:47and especially against at that stage of my career you know Chelsea were one of the
03:54strongest teams in the league and I think some some great wins for us at the
03:57time being Bournemouth manager gave us the belief that we could compete in the
04:00Premier League and being a newly promoted team you need every shot of confidence
04:04you can get so yeah I look back fondly with those games but obviously this game
04:10is very different it's you know it's a different kind of experience we now and
04:15said this before the previous Champions League game we're desperate to qualify in
04:18the competition we know the importance of our home games so after the
04:22disappointment of Barcelona we're looking forward to this one just if Sandro doesn't
04:26make it how is it put how important is it that people like Lewis Miley and Jacob
04:30Ramsey have although limited they have Champions League experience yeah they have
04:35Champions League experience but they're also very very good players yeah I think
04:40we've got a really strong midfield this year so if one player is missing it's an
04:44opportunity for a very good player to come in and grab theirs so yeah I thought
04:48both players did well when they came on on Saturday
04:49Eddie it's been a strange sort of start to the season how do you kind of assess it
04:56coming off the back of that Brighton game because you've probably deserved a
05:00little bit more than you've got from the season so far yeah frustrating is the
05:05feeling I think because I think we're so close to being something more or getting
05:09better results than we have I think the team performances have been strong I
05:15think we've been very good defensively although there was a couple of lapses
05:18against Brighton that's all it was that we got punished for and we're working so
05:22hard to try and create chances and I think the best sort of example of that as
05:27our goal our goal is a move from our goalkeeper to the finish it's a brilliant
05:33goal but that's a lot of work to get that goal and I don't think our opponents
05:37worked as hard as we did so but you make your own luck and you can only turn
05:43things your own way by doing the right things continually and so I don't think
05:46we're far away and we've just got to keep to our beliefs do you feel that the
05:50start of the European campaign you maybe learn some of those lessons from last
05:53year because it feels like the teams you're not having to rotate quite as much
05:57and the team's seen fitness no fitness issues ever yeah I think touch wood I
06:02think fitness wise we're pretty good I think we've got a couple of well more than a
06:06couple we've got three key players out injured at the moment which you know the
06:10huge players for us will make a big difference but you're going to get that
06:13throughout the season so that's par for the course really but it's making sure
06:17that you're robust enough to withstand any players that aren't with you and you
06:21can still win games and as I say I think we've been really strong in our
06:24performances but we need the results to go with it thank you Chris Conway
06:28Eddie there is the undoubted connection between Jose and Newcastle because of
06:33Sir Bobby Robson Jose has spoken warmly about Newcastle United in the past is that a bit
06:39strange for you as a manager because most managers you come up against won't have
06:42that sort of warmth or affection towards a rival club I don't know if it's if it's
06:52that different I think I've heard Jose's words about Newcastle and absolutely sort
06:59of echo them myself so I think it's from everyone and connected with the club I
07:03think words great words about Sir Bobby and the role that he played in his career I
07:08think that's really nice to hear but I think the line sort of stops tomorrow when
07:12the game kicks off we want to win we're desperate for the points it will be a
07:16competitive game between two great clubs so yeah those words are nice to hear but
07:21we're obviously desperate for the result thank you just behind you please Chris
07:26hi Eddie right here John Miguel Nunes for RTP Portugal I would like to know if you see
07:31any favorite for this game and also how do you look to to Mourinho's impact in
07:38Bay Fica do you think that right now is this a stronger team with Mourinho thank you
07:43yeah I mean I think yes I'd say the characteristics that he has as a
07:49manager his teams are very hard to beat his teams are incredibly well organized I
07:52think we'll see all of those things on the pitch tomorrow I think he has a way
07:56of inspiring his teams to be very very good off the ball they're very disciplined
08:01in the games that I've seen since he's taken over as manager there's highlights
08:04there against Chelsea I thought they were very close to getting a great result
08:07it's a really tight game and we know it's a difficult place to go and the game
08:11against Porto was equally you know really tight that was a very good defensive
08:16performance from from his Benfica team so I think we know what to expect and it's
08:21going to be up to us to try and influence our players and deliver the game plan
08:26that we want thank you Lee Ryder then George Cork in place Eddie I think Jose
08:31coined the phrase park with bus and when he was at Chelsea he could bring his team
08:37here do something similar given their last league game was away at Porto and they
08:42made it very difficult and a nil-nil draw yeah it was a nil-nil draw but it
08:46wasn't a I don't like the phrase to be honest but it wasn't a park in the bus
08:51performance it was a disciplined defensive performance but they were very
08:53much an attacking threat in the game as well especially in the second half so I
08:57think regardless of what tactical plan they deliver I know they'll be they'll have
09:05attacking threats and ones that we're gonna have to manage and defend very well so
09:09we're under no illusions it's going to be tactically an interesting game a
09:14difficult challenge for us but one that hopefully we can rise to and the home
09:18crowd our crowd has been spoken about in the Portuguese media as well how
09:22important that's going to be I mean you know that that anyway obviously but again
09:26how important will that be on a Champions League night under the lights for me
09:30it's always it's one of the defining things it's not the defining thing you know the
09:35defining thing will be our performance and how well we attack and how well we
09:38deliver you know our on the ball way of playing and of course how we defend as
09:46well you know we're gonna have to defend well in the game too but the crowd can
09:48inspire us and they can make the difference and when it's a tight game
09:51you're banking on that as the home crowd to try and swing the game your way
09:54thank you mr. George then Luke and then to Craig Hall please
09:57hi Eddie just to kind of follow up on Mark's question does there's obviously
10:02kind of been a huge outgoing in the summer and lots of incoming incoming
10:06does any part of you suspect or fear or think that this may end up being a more
10:13transitional season than you would ideally like and can you afford a
10:17transitional season yes quite a bit to that question yeah I think whenever you
10:25bring players in and you lose players that that I mean that in a sense brings
10:30the word transition because you're losing players and you're adding players to
10:33your squad hopefully we've got the balance right between you know not losing
10:39our identity not losing how we play and I don't think we have I think when you
10:43look at us play I think you can clearly see a Newcastle team or what we're
10:45trying to do the efforts there the commitments there sometimes we haven't
10:50played with enough quality I think that was evident against Brighton but I think
10:55as long as we see the heart and endeavor and the attitude that we've always seen
10:59for the last four years I think we'll get consistent results again but there's no
11:04doubt when you lose key players there is an element of finding a new way of doing
11:09things and getting attuned to the new players and well I do think there's an
11:12element of that in our performances too would you label Jose Mourinho as one of
11:20the all-time great Premier League managers I think you have to I think look
11:25what he did and I'm not saying that because we're up against him tomorrow I
11:29genuinely believe it I think he's as I said when he came in initially the impact
11:34he made was was incredible really I think he had an aura around him and his
11:38teams very difficult to be so yeah I took a lot from watching his teams in the in my
11:45very early days in my days when I was looking to sort of mold how I wanted to
11:48play and what I was thinking about coaching wise definitely had a big impact on
11:52that just one on the the you're attacking game this season it's fair to say it
11:57hasn't quite clicked is that down to the wingers more than Nick no it's it's down to
12:04the team certainly you know Nick's more than played his part he's helped us
12:09incredibly since he's come in and I think we're very very pleased with him I think
12:14the team can do more I think of course the wingers can do more creative
12:17midfielders can do more our full backs can do more you know they've been when you
12:22look at our full backs have been incredible creative source for us for for a
12:25long time so we need goals from set plays more goals from corners more goals from
12:30free kick so that there's a a never-ending list of ways you can score goals and it
12:35only takes one to win a game if you're defending as well as we have done so food
12:40for thought for all of us really connected with the team thanks Luke Craig
12:43hi Eddie it's a similar theme really and on the on the white men in the modern game
12:48they are such a rich source of goals and assists in the Premier League your four
12:52wingers between them have got no goals and one assist this season have you sat down
12:56with them if you take them into a room showed them videos as a quartet to try
12:59and get that sort of group responsibility if you like yeah we have meetings with
13:05them all the time individually unit team so we're constantly working on all
13:12phases of our game and the attacking side will be no different to all the
13:16other areas of the team that you need to function to get a positive result there is
13:20an onus and a responsibility in all the attacking players to contribute but as I
13:23say sometimes the problem doesn't always exist with sort of what you're directly
13:29looking at there can be another reason behind it so it's a giving everyone
13:33accountability in the team me included to try and find a solution and just to pick
13:38out one of those players because obviously you came in this summer for a lot of money
13:41Anthony Alanga where is he at is it is it more a confidence issue than a
13:45technical issue right now would you say I think Anthony is he's an outstanding
13:52player I've got no doubt on his long-term qualities for the team I think there's a
13:56settling in period for him that he's going through is having to make slight
13:59adjustments to his game but I think again when you look back at his if you put a
14:04highlight reel of what he's delivered albeit no necessarily direct goal
14:08outputs that's not all down to his contribution he's been some great crosses we
14:13should have scored from some of them but I think he's got a lot more to give and I
14:17think he will give a lot more in the future so I've got no doubts about his his success
14:22we're almost out of time we'll take one more just from Kieran please
14:26have you sense that there's a desire to really put right what happened at
14:32Brighton there isn't a hangover well I think yeah of course I mean I think that
14:36drives you every day I mean the the Brighton game was such a disappointment
14:40because when we equalized it felt like we're the team that was going to go on and win the game we had the
14:45momentum we had the territorial supremacy we were aggressive from front foot in our
14:53in that moment in the game and yeah we conceded from an attack really that we
14:58shouldn't have done in that moment and of course there's such little time then to
15:02give ourselves an opportunity to get an equalizer we still had three or four
15:06opportunities that another day you'd bank us to take so that was a painful end to
15:10the game and a painful defeat but that's what you have another game around the
15:13corner for and we're looking forward to this one have you seen parallels with
15:17previous seasons maybe Newcastle haven't always made you know clocked up loads of
15:21points in the first eight games did you think there's a reason behind maybe a
15:24slower starter no I think last year casting my mind back was us was a
15:33particularly slow start in terms of our performances I don't think we had we had
15:36more points maybe than we deserved last year I think it's flipped around this year I
15:40think we had less points than we deserve which is equally as painful as the other
15:44way because the other way you're sort of doubting the long-term ability of the team
15:48even though you're picking up points whereas I think part of my job at the
15:53moment is because we're playing strongly in the games is to to back the team know
15:57that in my experience I think we'll come good and we will be able to put a run of
16:02wins together which is really what we need in the Premier League and of course the
16:06Champions League we're so early in the format but we can't wait too long before
16:11trying to hit that really winning run as well okay thanks everybody sorry to
16:15anyone who missed out we're out of time but Nick Pope will be with you very
16:19shortly thank you thanks very much thank you
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