Eddie Howe Newcastle United press conference pre-Brentford: Dominic Scurr reaction

Shields Gazette

Dominic Scurr reflects on Eddie Howe's Newcastle United press conference ahead of Brentford.

Transcript

00:00Hello, everyone, and welcome back to the Newcastle United Media Centre.

00:04It's been a while, it's over two weeks since we last spoke to Eddie Howe

00:08ahead of the Carabao Cup final.

00:10And since then, well, history, Newcastle United have changed

00:14as a football club, winning the Carabao Cup.

00:17But that has to be shelved.

00:19Eddie Howe recognised that.

00:21It's back to Premier League action.

00:22Ten huge games left to play.

00:24Champions League qualification on the line.

00:27And as much as Saturday, the Carabao Cup win was so important,

00:32so huge for Newcastle United.

00:35If you're looking at things like the boring stuff like balance sheets, PSR,

00:39long term success of a football club, Champions League football is something

00:44that if you talk to the people in the boardroom, that's important.

00:48That's the sort of pinnacle for Newcastle United in terms of continuing

00:53this trend, this upward trend the club want to be on.

00:57So, yeah, 10 games to go.

00:58Newcastle, one point outside the Champions League places.

01:01Fifth place, almost certain to get Champions League qualification

01:05this season under the new UEFA rules.

01:08And Brentford up at St James' Park on Wednesday.

01:11And Eddie Howe recognised that the Brentford game back in December

01:15in the Premier League, the away game, got beat 4-2.

01:18Almost a turning point in Newcastle's season because it was like

01:21almost potential wheels coming off sort of situation for Newcastle.

01:26But they turned things around brilliantly, won nine games in a row,

01:29reached the Carabao Cup final.

01:31And then, although the league form has been a bit up and down since,

01:35and Eddie Howe recognised that, managed to get the job done in the Carabao Cup.

01:39And historically, after this March international break,

01:43they go to Dubai and they tend to end seasons very well.

01:46So we'll be looking to do the same again, galvanised by a Cup win as well.

01:52And in terms of the team news, I think very little will change.

01:55Anthony Gordon, obviously injured from international duty,

01:59very close to a return, but is suspended for the Brentford game.

02:03And then the likes of Sven Bottmann, probably another month

02:05on the sidelines for him.

02:06Jamal Lascelles may not see him again this season.

02:10Touch and go by the sounds of it, based on what Eddie Howe was saying.

02:15Lewis Hall will be out until pre-season.

02:18So, yeah, in terms of players returning, we would expect a very similar squad

02:23to what we saw at Wembley just over two weeks ago.

02:27So, yeah, in terms of what Eddie Howe was saying in the press conference itself,

02:32I think the focus was just how great Saturday was.

02:36But now it's about using that, harnessing that good feeling

02:40and really making this a season, it's already a season to remember,

02:44but in the Premier League, at least, carrying on that momentum

02:47and making, just building on the Cup win as such.

02:51And Champions League football important to that,

02:53because Newcastle have already got European football,

02:55at least with the Conference League, but Champions League football

02:58would very much be the icing on the cake.

03:01And a sort of newsy line to come from the press conference

03:06actually came from a question I asked towards the end of the press conference,

03:09which was, OK, Eddie Howe spoke about Jamal Lascelles

03:13and whether he potentially played his last game for the club,

03:16how important he was in terms of celebrating the Cup win,

03:20despite being out for a year, but defensively as well,

03:24Fabian Scherr, such an important player,

03:25he's been one of the most used players under Eddie Howe

03:30and has played such a key role in the Cup win, recent seasons as well,

03:34out of contract in the summer, 33 years old now as well.

03:38I asked, what about his contract situation?

03:40And Eddie Howe said, well, he's signed a new deal,

03:43or if he hasn't, it will be happening imminently.

03:45So Fabian Scherr, in terms of a breaking news story from Eddie Howe this morning,

03:50Fabian Scherr set to sign a new deal at Newcastle United.

03:52So good news, I'd say.

03:55Fabian Scherr's form has been a bit up and down this season,

03:58considering the very high bar he'd set under Eddie Howe previously.

04:02He's been such an important player for Newcastle over the years

04:06and will go down in history as one of the best ever signings the club have made.

04:10£3 million, he's made 220 appearances for the club,

04:14starting defender in the Carabao Cup final to end a 70-year domestic trophy drought.

04:19I mean, what more can he do?

04:22But yeah, another year of Fabian Scherr, not a bad thing.

04:26Whether he takes a more backseat role next season,

04:29because the club will be looking to sign a defender in the summer too,

04:34with Jamal Lasalle potentially going out,

04:36there's no real right centre-back backup to Fabian Scherr.

04:41Emile Kraft can play there, of course,

04:43but is more of a right-back and more of a utility man defensively

04:46in terms of a natural backup to Fabian Scherr

04:49or a natural upgrade on Fabian Scherr.

04:51Of course, he is 33 now.

04:53There isn't that player in the squad.

04:56So Newcastle will be looking to address that in the summer,

04:58as well as various other areas of the squad.

05:01But you just see the scenes on Saturday through the city centre.

05:05Who wouldn't want to be part of that?

05:07And that was something Eddie Howe was asked about as well.

05:10And although he couldn't answer whether Saturday's parade would help attract players,

05:14it would certainly help keep the current group united closer together.

05:19It was a city, a club, united from top to bottom.

05:22And Eddie Howe said that is arguably one of the most important things to Newcastle's success,

05:27everyone being together, pushing in the same direction.

05:31And right in this wave, because although the home form,

05:35the Premier League form has been a bit up and down in recent months,

05:39probably since the turn of the year, really, since that nine-game winning run,

05:45you see the likes of the Liverpool game in the Carabao Cup final,

05:49the semi-final games against Arsenal,

05:51probably Newcastle's three best performances of the season,

05:54all resulting in, I was going to say two no-wins, but the final was 2-1 in the end.

05:59But really top-level performances against the two best teams in the country.

06:03If you can just harness that, go into ten games, final ten games,

06:08they've got some favourable fixtures as well,

06:11a game in hand on the teams above them as well.

06:13Who knows where Newcastle can finish, but it is very, very tight.

06:18You go down probably to 10th in the table, around where Brentford are actually,

06:23who are there, away form is very strong now as well.

06:27So it's going to be an interesting end to the season.

06:30Who knows what's going to happen from here on out,

06:33but Newcastle have a really good opportunity to build on what will be,

06:37or what will go down as one of the best seasons,

06:40if not the best season in recent memory for Newcastle United.

06:43But can really still add to it and put the cherry on the top of the cake,

06:48put the icing on the top of the cake, and qualify for the Champions League,

06:52which is very much achievable with ten games to go.

06:55But in order to do that, they need to be winning these home games,

06:58need to get their home form back on track in the Premier League,

07:01and what better chance to do it against Brentford on Wednesday evening?

07:05And I'll be there covering it for the Shields Gazette with my colleague Joe Buck,

07:09and we'll have all the fallout from Eddie Howe's press conference today as well.

07:13As well as all the build-up to Wednesday's game,

07:15and all the reaction to come from that over on the Shields Gazette.

07:19So yes, I've been Dominic Scurr.

07:21Thank you for watching, and make sure to check out the Shields Gazette

07:24for everything we'll have to say about Eddie Howe's press conference

07:27and looking ahead to Brentford.

07:29Cheers.

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