The Newcastle United players will have no excuses for not knowing about the importance of Sunday’s game against Sunderland.
For some of the Newcastle United squad, it will be their first experience of the Tyne-Wear derby.
Such is the international nature of the Premier League, there are not many Geordies in the Newcastle ranks, either.
Some of the players will have played in the 3-0 win over the Black Cats in January 2024 but things are very different now.
So much has been made about the midfield and goalkeeper selection dilemmas, but who are you starting in central defence?
Sven Botman doesn't look like making it 😟
I’m going with Thiaw and Burn. Is that harsh on Fabian Schar?
Sunderland are a much better team these days and while Newcastle are brilliant on their day, consistency is an issue – particularly away from home.
It’s going to be a new experience for almost all of the players but Eddie Howe will not let that prove to be an excuse.
Eddie Howe says Newcastle United players will be told of the importance of Sunderland game
Howe didn’t conduct a press conference at his usual time ahead of the Sunderland game, having given the players a day off on Friday.
Instead, he spoke to reporters in the immediate wake of Newcastle’s 2-2 draw with Bayer Leverkusen in the Champions League, which was held back due to a press embargo.
The Newcastle United manager admitted that though the focus up until that game was the clash in Germany, attention then turned to the Sunderland clash.
They take one game at a time, despite the magnitude of Sunday’s fixture.
You can pick one player to score the winner against Sunderland on Sunday, who are you going for?
It would be great for Wissa to get his first Toon goal, but imagine the scenes if Bruno scores!😍
“As soon as the game ends and we focus on the next one, we knew the importance of this game. I had to make that clear to all of the players,” he said.
“There will be some new players who maybe don’t understand it as well as others so we’ll use whatever methods we can in the next few days to make sure that everyone enters the pitch fully aware of the importance.”
How Dan Burn will help Eddie Howe ahead of Sunderland vs Newcastle United
Earlier this week, Bruno Guimaraes revealed that Dan Burn will talk to the Newcastle players about the rivalry with Sunderland.
While Burn has only ever actually played against the Black Cats once, he will know all about the intense rivalry between the two sides given he is from the area.
Lewis Miley, another Geordie, will no doubt have some useful insight too.
Clearly, most of the players will be aware of the size of Sunday’s game. However, having that in-depth knowledge explained to them by a senior teammate can only be a good thing.
The result of Sunderland vs Newcastle United cannot be guaranteed. What can, however, is a certain level of effort.
There can be no excuses on Sunday. Some of the insipid away performances we’ve seen this season just cannot fly here.
Newcastle simply have to show up.
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