Eddie Howe reacts to Newcastle United winning their first trophy in 70 year

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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe reacts to Newcastle United winning their first trophy in 70 years and embracing their success  16/03/2025  Wembley Stadium, London, UK

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00:00If you can smell a strange smell, that's me, drenched in whatever it is, so apologies for

00:25that.

00:26How do you feel?

00:31I feel amazing.

00:32I think it's an incredible day, really.

00:35I'm so, so pleased with our performance.

00:37I thought we were magnificent today, Keith.

00:39I think it was a lucky win from our perspective.

00:41Fully deserved.

00:42I thought the players were magnificent.

00:44You just walked into the room and said it was a funny smell.

00:48How did you get the sort of smell?

00:50Yeah, drenched in alcohol, I think, by Joe Linton and the rest of the squad.

00:55But a great moment, and that's what it's all about.

00:57It's about embracing the success.

01:00You have so many difficult days in football, and this club has had its fair share over

01:04the years.

01:05So, just trying to enjoy the moment and take it all in.

01:08Can you kind of put it into words for your fans when you got your hands on that trophy?

01:11I suppose the media are watching you play tonight.

01:14It made you feel it.

01:15It did, yeah.

01:16I think you're pleased for other people, really.

01:18I'm so pleased for the players.

01:20They've all had different journeys to get to this point, but we've come together as a squad.

01:24I love working with them every day.

01:26It's an honour to be their leader.

01:29Yeah, and for the supporters who came in there.

01:33Thousands today who supported us back home.

01:36Since I've been at the football club, the support we've had home and away has been incredible.

01:40So, I'm just so pleased they have this trophy to end the long wait, and hopefully we can

01:47get some more in the future.

01:49The season is safe, but outside as well.

01:52I just popped my head in earlier.

01:53The Jordan men are crying.

01:55Fifty per cent of them are crying.

01:57Is it what you guys have achieved?

02:00You're not going to forget what's going to happen then?

02:02Well, it's amazing what football can do.

02:04I think it's one of the rare sports that has that ability to give people days that they'll

02:10always remember.

02:12With such a long wait for a trophy, this will be a day that I'm sure everyone will never

02:16forget.

02:17I certainly won't.

02:18I think there are different ways to win trophies.

02:21Today we won it in the best way.

02:23We played a brilliant opponent, who have been the best team in the Premier League all season

02:26by a long way.

02:27For me, we were the better team.

02:30Thanks, Keith.

02:31We'll get through as many as we can.

02:32We'll go to Nisha, then Damien.

02:34Eddie, there were a few other fans who wanted to see Scranton down at Burn today.

02:40How happy are you for him, and what has he achieved this weekend?

02:44Yeah, what a week.

02:46What a few days for him.

02:47But I thought his performance today was colossal for us in the back.

02:52I thought him and Fabi played really well today.

02:54Aerially, they were excellent.

02:55Both teams were actually quite direct today.

02:57We knew Liverpool had a direct threat.

02:59And then you talk about his goal.

03:02We've been working on those corners tirelessly for two weeks.

03:05We've had mixed success, I can be honest, in training.

03:08And he's delivered one from a long range as well.

03:12I thought it was an incredible header.

03:14It's so fitting that it's him that scored that goal.

03:16A long wait for even a goal at Wembley.

03:19Yeah, a brilliant moment.

03:21How will you celebrate?

03:23You've got many of your players going away for international duty.

03:26You've got the international break.

03:27But this is a huge moment in the history of the club,

03:30in the history of Newcastle as a city.

03:32Will there be a big celebration to come?

03:34Yeah, I think there has to be.

03:36I certainly will be encouraging it, which is very rare for me, believe me.

03:41Usually I'm the other way.

03:42But no, we have to celebrate.

03:43We have to celebrate, hopefully, with our supporters,

03:45with everyone that's waited so long.

03:48It is difficult because it's international duty.

03:50Players will be going off here, they're going everywhere.

03:52We're going to Dubai tomorrow.

03:54So there won't be long to spend together.

03:56But hopefully it will be really enjoyable.

03:59Thanks, Nisha.

04:00Damian, then Craig.

04:01How important is Stepping Stone to the club's journey?

04:05I think it's really important.

04:06I think, hopefully, with one, it can become more.

04:10There's no guarantee, though.

04:11But I just think it proves we can do it.

04:14I've never had any doubts about our ability to lift our game.

04:19But you don't get many shots at this.

04:21You don't get many shots at a cup final.

04:24Today we had to try and take our opportunity,

04:26and that's where the players delivered under pressure so well and so impressively.

04:30It also proved that we can mix our game against the very, very best.

04:33Now the challenge for us is to try and get there more often,

04:36as in lifting our game, like we did today.

04:39Craig.

04:40Jürgen, you've worked for two weeks at Taylor Steel,

04:42a corner routine, to be in Man Utd.

04:44What's the secret as to how you set up that team, prepare that team,

04:48to be, in reality, so different from what we've actually seen in recent weeks

04:52in the Premier League?

04:53It felt like a real victory for coaching and preparation?

04:56The actual work for the game started after West Ham.

05:00We didn't do any work before West Ham,

05:03but we did in certain things, like the set plays, as I say.

05:07No team shape as such, but the set plays,

05:09we started a while back because I think we all sat down two weeks away

05:14from the final and said,

05:16the set play can win us the game, right?

05:18Let's see what we can do.

05:19Let's go into the detail that could swing it for us and not trying to be clever

05:24or give ourselves a pat on the back at all.

05:27It's all up to the players to deliver that.

05:29I mean, Kieran's ball, Dan's header,

05:31Dan's got so much to do from that distance,

05:33but little things can make a difference.

05:35So, yeah, that's what we did.

05:38I'll go to Martin, Luke and then Lee.

05:41Congratulations, Eddie.

05:42What was your emotion when that final was delivered?

05:46I don't know.

05:47So many different thoughts go running through your head.

05:51I thought we'd made it difficult for ourselves when we conceded the goal.

05:54Typical us, really, that we'd been so good during the game

05:57and then I thought their goal was a handball,

05:59then it was offside and that left a really tricky spell at the end.

06:03About 10 minutes, I think it was.

06:05Managed that 10 minutes really, really well.

06:07So then there's the relief that we got through that.

06:10And then I think naturally you end up thinking of the players, the staff,

06:14but also the people that aren't with you, like for me, my mum.

06:18Family members, go to them and just think of all the hard sacrifices,

06:22hard work that they gave you as a child

06:24to give you the opportunity to have a good life, really.

06:26Sorry to tell you very unfortunately,

06:28but did you feel that when you were climbing the stairs?

06:31Yeah, I think you think that you're getting help from above

06:35and you're getting support.

06:37I just always had the thought that I want to try and make my family proud

06:40and now, of course, I have three boys and I want to try and make them proud too.

06:43Have you seen your boys yet?

06:44No.

06:46Luke?

06:47Turns out the club wasn't first.

06:50Had to be you, didn't it?

06:53Yeah, I mean, you didn't like any of that talk that said,

06:57well, not concerning words, but you said it was pretty much nonsense

07:00and you had to control what you could control.

07:02Have you done something that only a club can manage to do for 70 years?

07:07Yeah, I'm a firm believer that you're in control of everything.

07:12So for me, we try to focus on the performance.

07:16I have to compliment Liverpool.

07:18Liverpool have been the best team in the Premier League by a mile this year consistently.

07:21So we knew we had to raise our game today to have any chance of beating them.

07:25We almost needed everyone to give their maximum game and I felt they did.

07:30I have to play compliments how Liverpool handled themselves after

07:33because we've been there two years ago.

07:34It's a horrible feeling.

07:35I thought they were absolute class.

07:36The manager, the players, really, really good.

07:40But yeah, the curse stuff for me never existed.

07:42It was in our hands.

07:44Where would you like to play?

07:47For me, it's just about trying to give my best every day still to Newcastle.

07:50That won't change.

07:53We'll really enjoy this moment.

07:55But we're not really looking too far beyond.

07:57Thanks, Luke.

07:58Leigh Ryder?

07:59It's obviously a win for the team and your staff.

08:01It feels like a real win for the city and the people in the city.

08:04You were a club and that was reflected on the picture there.

08:07Yeah, I agree, Lee.

08:08I think it was a victory for everyone.

08:10It wasn't a victory for me or the players as such.

08:13It was a victory for the club, the city.

08:16Everyone that's given loyalty and support to the club

08:20and has seen some really disappointing days

08:23over the last number of decades.

08:27The pain of certain defeats.

08:29Today's a really sweet moment and I encourage everyone to enjoy.

08:40I think it's sinking in.

08:43Very, very proud.

08:44Just very proud to manage the club.

08:45Very proud to represent the players.

08:47Very proud to represent the staff as well.

08:49We've got some people who have worked at this football club for a long, long time.

08:52It's great to see them so happy.

09:06Yeah, I'd agree with that.

09:07I think we do.

09:08I think we've got some players that have given so much to the club.

09:11They've given so much for a long time.

09:16And I think what we've done really well is we've stayed united and together.

09:19It's very difficult, I think, when you're the same group going again and again and again.

09:23And we've got a really small pool of players,

09:25but they continue to give more and represent the club in the right way.

09:29So I'm really, really pleased.

09:30I could go through loads of individual stories and say how pleased I am for them.

09:33I won't have time to do that,

09:34but you know how much this means to everyone in the squad.

09:41You're up a competency spot next season in the play-offs.

09:45That must be a big added bonus as well.

09:47Yeah, well, I wasn't aware of that.

09:49You've just told me something, so thank you.

10:04No, we don't put ourselves in that bracket.

10:06I think we'll let other people decide that when we're probably long gone from the football club.

10:12But I think our job is to give our best every day.

10:15And that will never change.

10:17That won't change now, in this moment.

10:19And we have to represent the club in the right way,

10:21which I think these players have done really, really well.

10:23They're very professional.

10:25I encourage them not to be professional tonight

10:28and just not think about tomorrow too much

10:30and just be together and enjoy the moment.

10:33And then we'll start to think of the future after.

10:58Yeah, I think it's huge.

11:00I think the supporters have to come and really enjoy watching that team play.

11:04And they've got their heroes in the team, and I encourage that.

11:06And I do think we've got some iconic players

11:08who will go down in, to Dom's point, as legends of the football club in the future.

11:14But they've still got to sort of cement that legacy.

11:17We've got a really talented group of players.

11:19But we've also got some really great stories in there too.

11:22Players that have fought against the odds to end up in this position

11:25and continue to excel and do well.

11:28OK, sorry to anyone we've missed.

11:30We'll finish with Chris and Kieran, please.

11:47Yeah, I don't think we did anything drastically different.

11:50We just tried to take away the distractions for the players, really.

11:56I know we've said it a lot in the build-up,

11:58but the first time we got to Wembley was very emotional.

12:01The first final.

12:02And you could sense that in the players.

12:04You could sense that in the crowd.

12:06And I don't think it necessarily helped our performance.

12:08And I think that was the reason that we lost.

12:12So this time we tried to take away as many distractions as we could.

12:15We tried to make it very similar to a Premier League build-up.

12:19I think staying at a quieter hotel away from any distractions

12:22was really important, actually.

12:24But again, it didn't decide the game.

12:26The players decided the game on the pitch.

12:28And I'm a firm believer in that.

12:29You can sometimes look back with hindsight and make bad calls.

12:32The players did so well on the pitch today, and that's why we won.

12:35Kieran, last one, please.

12:46Yeah, we respect Liverpool,

12:47but I don't think you can go on a pitch and fear anybody.

12:50I think you have to really believe in yourself.

12:52And I felt we did today.

12:53The players knew this was the moment.

12:55A really solid start to the game.

12:57We grew into it.

12:58We had the better chances.

13:00I don't think anyone could begrudge us the win today.

13:02And the manner of it, even making it close at the end,

13:05the way we managed it, as I said earlier,

13:06the last part of the game shows that we had the right mindset and qualities today.

13:10Thanks, everybody.

13:11Cheers.

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