Eddie Howe reveals there were two ‘massive’ positives to come from Newcastle’s defeat to West Ham

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There were a couple of positives on what was a rotten night for Newcastle United, as they lost to West Ham United.

The Magpies were beaten 2-0 by West Ham, with Eddie Howe’s winning run coming to an end.

It was a pretty awful performance from Newcastle United, who underwhelmed after some excellent performances before the international break.

To make matters worse, Newcastle have fresh injury concerns. Bruno Guimaraes and Joe Willock were forced off with injury, which is a concern ahead of Saturday’s game against Crystal Palace. However, Bruno is hopeful that his injury is not serious.

But while Newcastle may have picked up two more injury problems on Monday night, Eddie Howe was able to welcome back two of his most senior players.

Eddie Howe on Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier’s returns

During the defeat to West Ham, Callum Wilson and Kieran Trippier made their returns from injury. For Wilson, it was his first appearance of the season, while Trippier had missed Newcastle’s previous five games with a hamstring problem.

Following the game, Howe was asked by Newcastle United’s official website about the importance of having that duo back from injury.

“It’s massive,” he said.

“They’re players who can really make a difference and players that we’ve really missed. So we’re delighted to have them both back fit.

“It was a difficult game to come into, especially with the limited time they had on the pitch. But they’re big personalities, and it will do the group the world of good to have them both available.”

Newcastle United’s squad is suddenly much stronger

Newcastle United had a really strong bench against West Ham, with the returns of Wilson and Trippier making a huge difference.

They both came on in the second half, but were unable to influence the game. Wilson did have a penalty shout turned down, while Trippier tried to bring some calm to the chaos, but failed to inspire a comeback.

As Howe says, it was a tough moment for them to make their returns, and the hope will be that they have more of an impact in the coming weeks.

The frustrating thing about Monday night’s defeat was that Newcastle had players on the bench who could change the game. However, the Magpies got progressively worse once they started to make substitutions, with Eddie Howe’s side becoming more and more desperate.

Despite that, the returns of Wilson and Trippier are a big boost. It is particularly great to have Wilson back, as the hope will be that he can start to dovetail with Alexander Isak like he did in the 2022/23 season.

Hopefully the 32-year-old finds his rhythm soon and is able to start scoring goals for Newcastle United once again.