During this morning’s media briefing, Eddie Howe was informed that Newcastle United had qualified for Europe as they couldn’t finish below seventh. His reaction was peak Eddie Howe.
One thing that Newcastle fans have learned about Howe since he took over at Newcastle is that the man has laser focus. Nothing exists for him outside of the next game. The teams around us have no significance unless they happen to be our next opponent.
It was no surprise then, that when Newcastle World’s Jordan Cronin mentioned to Howe that Newcastle have now technically qualified for Europe, he had no idea, saying: “You better be right – I’m trusting your maths here! But it doesn’t stop. If we ended here, and lost the last 5, my summer would be ruined about what had happened.”
Eddie Howe probably hasn’t looked at the Premier League table this season
Nothing is wrapped up for Eddie Howe until that referee’s whistle blows for full-time on the 38th game of the season. Even if by that point Newcastle have the Champions League sewn up, Howe will still demand nothing but 100% from his Newcastle side. That’s just the man that he is and fans wouldn’t have it any other way.
After so many years of managers coming in and doing the bare minimum to keep the club running, at the behest of its Sports Direct overlord, it’s so good to see those days well and truly behind us. There’s a feeling now that nothing but the best is good enough and that’s how it should be.
Europa Conference League qualification isn’t a bad way to finish, but it’s not Champions League
How says how losing the next five games would ruin his summer and I have no reason to doubt that at all. I think even the fans would get over it faster than Howe.
At least we’d have had our best season for years and qualified for some form of European competition. But five defeats in a row would buckle Eddie Howe.
Thankfully, the chances of that happening are very slim with Howe’s side looking more than up for the fight for a Champions League place.
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