Eddie Howe asked a lot of his Newcastle United players during pre-season, and now they are reaping the rewards.
That is certainly the case for Lewis Miley, who is already excelling in the Newcastle United first-team at the age of just 17.
The teenager has been given an opportunity due to the Magpies’ ongoing injury crisis, and it is an opportunity he has grasped with both hands.
Miley has now started four games in a row for Newcastle, including the Champions League draw with Paris Saint-Germain. The midfielder has been outstanding over the past week and a bit, producing his best performance in a Toon shirt against Manchester United on Saturday.
He looks completely at home in the Newcastle midfield, unfazed by the enormity of the task he has been given.
That is a testament to his temperament, and Howe believes his performances now are largely down to how well he did during pre-season.
Eddie Howe thinks pre-season set Lewis Miley up for successful Newcastle run
Ahead of Newcastle’s game against Everton, Howe spoke to the media. He was asked if he had ever seen anything like this before from a player as young as Miley, to which he said ‘no’.
“It doesn’t totally surprise me, from what we saw in pre-season,” he said.
“Pre-season is a really tough, physical time. But it’s not so much the physical, it’s how you handle it mentally. Can you go day after day, tough training sessions, tough matches.
“I thought he did really well during pre-season. That probably was a really big part of his development to then make sure he was ready for the moments that he’s getting now.
“I just hope he continues to go from strength to strength. I don’t see any reason why he can’t and keep to the high levels he’s already shown.”
Miley was exceptional over the summer
As Howe says, Miley was truly brilliant in pre-season. He was given multiple opportunities in friendlies, and he never looked out of place.
His performance against Chelsea in America was spectacular, and he replicated it against the same opponent in the Premier League at St James’ Park last month.
The hard work he put in during the summer is paying off, and Miley is probably having a bigger role than he ever could have expected.
Circumstance has handed him an opportunity, but it is one that he richly deserves for how he acquitted himself during pre-season.
Now he is seeing the benefits of that hard work, and it has resulted in him looking at home in a Premier League midfield at the age of 17. Even if everyone was fit right now, it would be difficult to take him out of the Newcastle starting XI, and he is only going to keep getting better and better.
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