Eddie Howe shares clever plan to avoid Carabao Cup final mistake that cost Newcastle United two years ago

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Eddie Howe is preparing his Newcastle United side for a second trip to Wembley after reaching the Carabao Cup final.

Newcastle United put on a masterclass on Wednesday evening with Jacob Murphy and Anthony Gordon scoring in a 2-0 win over Arsenal.

A 4-0 win on aggregate against the Gunners means Newcastle have booked their spot at Wembley for the Carabao Cup final, which is set to take place on Sunday, March 16th.

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For Eddie Howe and many Newcastle players in this current squad, they will be hoping to go one step further after falling on the final hurdle to Manchester United in 2023.

Howe has a plan in mind to help his players prepare for the cup final.

Eddie Howe was ‘exhausted’ before Carabao Cup final

Two years ago, reaching the Carabao Cup final was a huge achievement for Newcastle and a true reflection of the progress made since the PIF takeover.

Newcastle’s last trophy was lifted in 1955 and the pressure of ending that drought seemed to weigh heavy on the squad.

Of course, that will be a factor again next month, but Howe has learned a lot from the defeat at Wembley two years ago.

As quoted by Northern Echo, Howe suggested he and his players were exhausted by the time they reached Wembley last time due to the excessively long build-up to the match.

“I think we learned a lot from that day,” Howe said. “The whole build-up to the game was long. Looking back, it was exhausting for me, so I’m sure it was the same for the players.

“You learn different techniques to help keep your concentration and focus, and not become tired because of the long build-up. There’s definitely things that, as a club, we can look at and improve.

“We can help the players, and make sure that when that day comes around, we’re able to help them to perform and give our absolute best.”

Newcastle United’s next month is hectic

The good news for Howe is that his Newcastle side will not have much time to sit and dwell on the upcoming final.

That is because over the next month, Newcastle are involved in some crucial clashes in both the Premier League and FA Cup.

Newcastle United’s fixture list is relentless, and with Champions League qualification in sight, players cannot allow performance levels to drop.

Next up for Newcastle is a trip to face Birmingham City in the FA Cup fourth round. The League One leaders are by no means an easy opposition, and Howe will want his side to piece together another cup run if possible.

After that, Newcastle face three direct rivals for Champions League spots, starting with a trip to Premier League champions Manchester City on Saturday, February 15th.

Matches against Nottingham Forest and Liverpool follow that and a trip to West Ham on March 10th will likely be the final fixture before the trip to Wembley.