Eddie Howe has revealed how impressed he’s been with what Tottenham manager Ange Postecoglou has done so far this season ahead of their clash against Newcastle United today.
Newcastle are travelling down to the capital this afternoon to take on their Premier League rivals in a huge game in the race for Champions League football.
In his press conference, Howe admitted that he had been impressed with Tottenham’s new style of play that Postecoglou had implemented this season.
Howe identifies Tottenham’s biggest strengths
At the start of the season, Tottenham looked to be the biggest threat to Manchester City who are looking to win their fourth Premier League title in a row.
Spurs were playing some brilliant football and had enjoyed an unbeaten start to the season with their new signings hitting the ground running.
However, one poor result against Chelsea looks to have brought the whole thing tumbling down and Postecoglou’s team are now winless in their last five despite going ahead first in each game.
Regardless of Tottenham’s worrying form, Howe is well aware of the challenges that they will pose for his Newcastle team who are also having their own struggles away from home.
“I think Tottenham have certainly changed a lot of their build-up patterns, their formations, the way they play is totally different.
“I’ve enjoyed watching them play, free-scoring early season, a lot of interesting rotations and movements, so yeah I think he’s done very well in a short period of time to implement his philosophy.”
This could be a season-defining week for Newcastle
Newcastle have a huge few games this week that could make or break their season. A trip to Tottenham will tell us a lot about the team’s resilience and ability to bounce back, and then a key game against AC Milan on Wednesday will have huge impacts on the rest of the season.
Win both and you’re potentially looking at the knockout rounds of the Champions League and leapfrogging Tottenham and Man United, lose both and you’re eliminated from Europe and drifting away from top four.
These results, Milan in particular, will also set the tone for the January window, deciding whether or not the club make a big push for the second-half of the season.
Either way, Howe’s Newcastle team will be relishing the game against Tottenham and have often pulled out big results when the pressure is on and their backs are against the wall.
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