Newcastle United Head Coach Eddie Howe has confirmed that Nick Pope and Callum Wilson are both injured for the Magpies’ clash against Leicester increasing the pressure on Howe and the squad. Daniel Wales reports.
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00:00Progress at Newcastle United has been quick since their Saudi-backed takeover in October
00:07of 2021. A League Cup final appearance at Wembley, a foray into the Champions League
00:13and memorable Premier League performances have given those on Tyneside much to shout
00:17about over the last few years.
00:21Things at present however would appear to be slightly stale, with rising frustration
00:25enveloping the club over performances and results, despite them still boasting plenty
00:29of quality within the squad. However, the lack of additions in the previous two windows
00:34may have allowed for complacency to creep in, just adding to the issues.
00:39The stresses of the job and turning around the recent ruts in form were certainly forefront
00:44in Eddie Howe's mind ahead of the visit of Leicester City to St James' Park on Saturday.
00:50Howe said that pressure can never be escaped at a club like Newcastle, but made clear that
00:55he is always surrounded with his work in the pursuit of improvement.
01:01He added that whilst the focus of the work may change from match to match, the standards
01:05he sets himself do not, that he is happy to take criticism where needed both to improve
01:11himself and deflect comments away from the players who along with Howe have been questioned
01:16in recent weeks because of results.
01:20Comments of this nature will be encouraging to Newcastle supporters, but away from that,
01:25they will be less happy to hear that both Nick Pope and Callum Wilson will miss the
01:29Leicester fixture, along with several more to come in the coming weeks. Wilson suffered
01:34a reoccurrence of a hamstring issue and will be out for around eight weeks.
01:40Pope meanwhile picked up an injury to his knee during the Magpies loss away against
01:44Brentford last week, which at first seemed minimal according to Howe, but is now set
01:49to keep the shot-stopper out for a month. This leaves Howe with a decision to make over
01:54who to play in goal between Martin Dabravka and Odysseas Vlachadimos.
02:00Against Leicester City, Newcastle will face a side now managed by Ruud van Nistelrooy,
02:05the former Manchester United striker and coach. Howe outlined that van Nistelrooy has made
02:10tweaks to how the Foxes set up, but that his side are ready to face them and provide a
02:15reaction following the disappointment they faced in their loss against Brentford.
02:22Three points seems like a must for Howe and Newcastle in this game, who do not want to
02:26lose too much ground to the teams around them in the race for European places in the Premier
02:31League. With half of the season nearly completed and the January transfer window now approaching,
02:38Newcastle have work to do.
02:40Another one positive for the Magpies regards defender Sven Bottmann, who Howe confirmed
02:45has been in training with the squad for a little while now following a long recovery
02:49from an anterior cruciate ligament tear. Bottmann is being eased slowly back in and will be
02:55available for selection around the turn of the year.