Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe and (inset) Alan Shearer
Newcastle United head coach Eddie Howe and (inset) Alan Shearer
After such a barnstorming win, against such a dismal Leicester City side, the Newcastle United message has been clear.
From fans, from journalists, from pundits, from players and from the boss himself; This victory simply must be backed up with another win over Brentford and a result on the road at Ipswich Town.
“I’m pleased, but I’m not high in the sense of getting carried away,” Eddie Howe said in the aftermath of Saturday's 4-0 win. “I’m very focused on Wednesday, on a repeat performance. After what I’ve seen this season, it’s very much back to work on Monday.”
We have been here before this season. Three wins on the spin just over a month ago were followed up with a shoddy performance against struggling West Ham United, as Newcastle's uncharacteristic inconsistency emerged once again.
Despite the home advantage, Brentford's poor away form and the fact Newcastle's squad is significantly more valuable than their opponents', confidence isn't as high as many would like ahead of Wednesday's cup clash with the Bees.
Even Alan Shearer, who has been so critical of Newcastle and their inconsistency of late, has hammered home the point that the Leicester display must be followed up in two 'important' games in the coming days.
“I said the previous week about the lack of energy, the lack of pressing – all of those things were back,” he told the Rest Is Football podcast.
“They were back to being a horrible team to play against. They played really, really well. It was a really good all round performance. They need to keep it up. They’ve got two important games [this week].”
Pressure has undoubtedly eased after Saturday's much-needed win, partly due to the manner of the ruthless performance. Backing that up by booking a spot in the Carabao Cup semi-final will provide Newcastle a big springboard ahead of tricky fixtures in and around Christmas and New Year.