Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has been speaking to the media before Tuesday’s Champions League last-16 first leg against Barcelona at St. James’ Park (kick-off 20:00 GMT).
Here are the key lines from his news conference:
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Tino Livramento is back in the squad and Howe confirmed the defender has the possibility of playing, but they need to find the “balance” with him as he returns from injury. He also confirmed there has been illness in the camp, but is hopeful that will not rule anyone out for Tuesday.
The Newcastle boss feels the role of being “underdog” has “helped us at times when we’ve been in that position where we feel the odds are stacked against us”. He added: “We’re going to need to use every psychological tool that we can to help us in this game because it’s undeniable, we’re playing a very, very good team. An outstandingly well-coached team.”
Howe is hopeful they can “learn lessons” from their two-leg semi-final defeat by Manchester City in the Carabao Cup as they look to find the balance and “not do anything foolish” that could impact their chance of progressing from the tie.
On setting the tone from the start: “A good start I think is really important. But, as you saw against Manchester City at the weekend, it’s not the be-all and end-all. Of course you want to set the authority in the game, you want to show your opponent that you mean business, but we have to carry that through for the whole game. We have to be there at the end just as much as we are at the beginning.”
On the romanticism of and taking inspiration from the Magpies’ only other win over Barcelona in 1997: “There’s only 16 teams left, and we’re one of them, so I think it’s very much an opportunity to grab a moment that we may never get again. You don’t know what life brings tomorrow, let alone future seasons. We don’t want to waste that opportunity. We don’t want to kick ourselves and think ‘what if?’. This is a moment for us to try and grab.”
Having already lost to Barcelona 2-1 in the group stage this season, Howe feels they had their “moments” but they didn’t take them, while the Catalan giants did take theirs. However, his side can “take a lot of confidence from our performance for the majority of the game”.
Asked whether coming through this tie would be his greatest achievement with the club, he responded: “I don’t care about myself and my record or what people think, it’s for the club. I’m desperate for the club to break new ground and to keep going in this competition having worked so hard to get here. We’re all thinking of the club, we’re trying to support the players to give the best performance that we’ve given so far. I think we’re going to need to break new ground in terms of performance level.”
Listen to full commentary of Newcastle v Barcelona on Tuesday from 20:00 GMT on BBC Sounds
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[BBC]
