'I WOULDN'T swap Isak with anyone else IN THE WORLD!' | Eddie Howe | Newcastle 5-1 Sheffield United

trying to read it trick sppy Dam, do you want to start with us? Yeah, I mean, we knew halftime was going to be important for us. I think in the first half we were. I don't need to tell you that we were fine, um probably. a bit of tiredness midweek when it was the first game in a while and then of course a very quick turnaround but we knew it was going to be a tough game, we knew Sheard Unit would turn up and fight with everything they had to remain. the Premier League uh um yeah they put a lot of balls behind our back line we had trouble dealing with them and we were lucky to get halfway to half time level and that was probably the most important thing for us it allowed us to settle. some things and you came out with a much better performance when you finished and took your B, you had the first chance in particular, yes, it was a great fin, great ball from Jacob, very tight, you know, from being offside, but that's the beauty of the The timing of his career was high level but the ending, as you say, was very important for us at a time when we were struggling to get a foothold in the game the way we wanted to and it was great to see Alex link up with Callum in In the end, you know, in the later stages of the game, it's really good to see them both pass each other having that synergy and understanding between them, so it's a really good day for both players, I'm at the back, that's more goals than us. you scored in the famous entertainment season when you pass the League, how satisfying is that for you in your team, I think look when you start the season you don't aim for that, but scoring goals is something we have to do and we want to do we want I said many times we want to attack we want to be known for being an attacking team our team is always looking for opportunities to score and excite our amazing fans and play the style of football that is in line with the traditions of the club so doing that is a great thing , but of course it's about winning games, it's not really about scoring goals as such in terms of numbers, it's about winning as many games as you can and we.

We've probably had too many leaks the other way, although I've been a free scorer, so it's certainly something we need to work on. You say it sounds like you have a lot of room to improve that too, which is awesome, great. I think we have There's room to improve just in terms of getting numbers back that can help us and these players again that have had to work week in and week out, um and again today, very quick turnarounds in games, we really couldn't rotate the team anymore. than we did. It's been a big burden on those guys but they've done incredibly well and I think there was a bit of fatigue in that first half performance which wasn't like us, but in the second half we had a much better feeling. about us um you saw the quality of attack that we possess and as you say with other players coming back I think it's exciting actually we have Luke George and then Craig Luke.

Where do you think Alon e sits in that kind of group? The forwards are

world

class as far as you are concerned, I think it is, yes I think it is. I mean, I'm not analyzing too much every striker in

world

football, to be honest, I'm concentrating a lot on my team and so on. He probably he

wouldn

't be the best qualified person to give that opinion, but to me I don't think the most important thing is to trade him for someone

else

and no I

wouldn

't um when you look at his age profile and what it is.

To come, you look at his attributes and his qualities, you know he's talented, so I guess you're going to repeat, there's no chance to consider that he's not, and I think it's a shame for me and probably for Alex that you understand the question and why . You're asking, but that will be the main thing. I think the better he does it and the more goals he scores. I think we should enjoy his performances. How he's playing him right now. He is full of confidence. He looks physically. It's a really good place and I think it's great to see them playing at the moment, thanks George, that's four wins in six, now I think it's 15 goals scored and one loss.

Can I take you back to that Man City cup defeat? What's that? a delicate moment or a difficult moment had the potential to be a difficult moment now, was it really important in R like that? Everyone, yes, it was a difficult time. I struggle to qualify the losses for myself. Every loss feels exactly the same as Wednesday night. It's hard to describe what it feels like to lose, but it's a horrible feeling and I work as hard as I can to not feel that again for as long as possible, it's a big boost for me actually, um, but yeah, that loss against Manchester .

City have had a lot of time to think about it because we are on a plane to Dubai and a lot of things are going through my mind, what are we going to do next, where are we going to take the team, how can we get our consistency back. I could go. again and again and that's why I praise the trip to Dubai because I think it gave not only me but the players the opportunity to reset and distract ourselves in a different environment and then return to Newcastle with a real determination to finish the season successfully.

At a high point, it was important at the time to show that the season wasn't over, that everyone, well, they had 10 games left to play for Newcastle United, you know there's no part of

anyone

internally that thought our season was over. It's true, we need to show that we are still competitive and that we are still a good team and that we can be successful and all that momentum that we will carry at the end of this season will carry over into next season, so we did it. Don't underestimate the responsibility that brought to Craig Ed.

Yesterday's press conference was common when you came in here, we were wondering about Alexander and left when you came on the road with his next club, they answered the question about that, that's something Well. At a WS you can tell we're doing well, but have you had to sit down with these players or will you sit down with these players and have that conversation with them about why they should stay here? Yeah, I think I mentioned that before. I don't really think or want to address that week after week, but in the same sentence you want your players to play at their best level and constantly show their talents to the world, so it probably goes hand in hand, unless we are right at the top of the tree, something we are not at the moment, so I think we have work to do as a football club to maintain our ambition, which is there and tell everyone that it is there, but the players have to feel it. that in addition to committing their long-term futures to the club, we have to keep the momentum, uh, very, very strong, okay, Scott Wilson, just one more on Alex.

Is he a better player now than when he first arrived? And if he saw what. aspects, do you think in particular? Without a doubt for me, he is a much better player and that's what we got, we signed a very, very good player, we sounded like an outstanding individual, but I think naturally playing in the Premier League you improve a lot. The league is so physically demanding that it's tough and I think Alex would probably openly admit that if he said to himself that the league for a striker is that you have to lead the line, you have to, especially with the way we play and with It's not easy for the players to do it, you can see the effort he has to put in week after week, but I'm just saying that his entire game has developed a lot of different facets that he didn't have, but the most important thing is that I think who has confidence. in front of the goal and I think you have to remember that he came to us scoring, I think it was six goals in La Liga, so I think the confidence needed to come and it did gradually when he started scoring regularly and now he is probably at his best of his career, that would be my assessment.

I may tell you otherwise, but you asked me a question so I have to answer it, but I think he looks in a very good place and I'm enjoying watching him. Play and how was he? Yeah, I think he had a little bit of tightness in his hamstring. I don't think it's a big injury. There's not a moment where you think he's torn his hamstring, but it was enough to make him uncomfortable and he couldn't fully run so he had to come, okay, we'll go with Dominic and then Aaron, initially he took off. only as a substitute, yes, well, we were going to make the change and he said it was fine and he wanted to continue and then at half-time it became clear that he couldn't, that's why we made the change.

War Display Bruno today. Bruno is that kind of affection and connection, something you almost have a hard time finding anywhere

else

, yeah, cool, I think I'm saying this. every week but War Flag is very happy with the exhibition, personally I am happy because they are showing their love for the players and for me it is always about the players and if we can build the connection between the fans and the players and make it stronger , so I think it is very important that the players enter the field feeling their best to execute under high pressure what they need to and I think that will further strengthen the connection between the club and Bruno.

I love the fact that the fans idolize him and I hope that continues. Well, I have Martin. Eddie here, what did you like about Alex when you started exploring his technical ability? Probably the first thing I saw was that very, very good move. a for a number nine, you, you, of course, when you look at Strikers, you can classify your Strikers by what type they are. I think that with Alex it was very difficult to do that because he could do a little bit of everything, of course, his physical qualities were very good, he was fast as lightning, very agile, also, with the technical qualities, then you think you have them, We have a great player on our hands, here what he needed to add from his last season in Spain were goals and fortunately the teams helped him achieve them.

I think we've laid a good foundation for him, but of course the challenge is never ending for him now is to continually score goals and keep doing it. This level is very difficult and how is he as a car and how happy is he within the group. Yes, I think he is very happy within the group again. I'm speaking without knowing it 100% because you know I'm speaking on his behalf. but he looks happy he interacts very well with his teammates he has very good friendships um yes, he seems happy when he comes to train and to work um he actually requires very little maintenance he is a calm and quiet guy with the players but very popular at the same time and then Kier finishes either.

I'm personally for him on the second one. Yes very good. You know, we say that when Callum comes back from injury, invariably he always does the job and that's sometimes very difficult when you're around. You have to do the same things again and attack for a long period and then do the rehabilitation and he has to get back to such a good physical level to score goals, but he again he did the job, this time it was a little bit easier. CU was an upper extremity injury, so he has run a lot. He had no doubt that he looked very good.

I thought he looked great today when he came in, he probably could have scored more than the one he did, but the one he did get was an incredible finish and like I said before, seeing him and Alex Link the way they did and seeing how threatening they were together on the field is a great sign for the American team obviously where would be best for today um yeah he. We had a meeting yesterday he said he felt fit to play he said he felt good um and yeah I backed him up uh and I thought he gave a really good performance to finish as I say our job is to try to make him as happy as it can give him the best opportunity to play their best football, try to create a team that likes to play and look after them off the field.

The fact that he has a great relationship with the fans, that absolutely helps us. We will do everything we can. to try to meet their needs here, uh, but of course in the other things that you talked about, we're a little bit out of control, yeah, a strange feeling for me because we have that strength in depth on the attacking side, uh , We have not made it. I had this season and it's had a big impact on us, but yeah, it's really nice today to be able to take out a couple of players and give them a break to bring in such high-level players.

I think it gave everyone a boost of confidence. before the game ok thank you all thank you thank you come by