Newcastle United players celebrate after Sandro Tonali's first goal against Brentford
Newcastle United players celebrate after Sandro Tonali's first goal against Brentford
Brentford boss Thomas Frank told Eddie Howe that he hopes Newcastle United win the Carabao Cup because 'we need a bit of change'.
Newcastle booked their place in the semi-finals of the competition for the second time in three seasons following a 3-1 win against Brentford at St James' Park on Wednesday night. Frank was the first to admit that his side 'lost fair and square' to a 'great team' and, although there are some other big hitters left in the draw, the Dane has no doubt that Newcastle can go on and end their 69-year wait to win a domestic trophy.
"I think they can," Frank declared. "I even said to Eddie that I hope they win it because we need a bit of change.
"With Liverpool and Arsenal winning and Tottenham and Manchester United winning it relatively recently, why not give it a change? I think it would mean more to the Newcastle fans than the rest who are used to winning. I'll give them my best support."
Dan Burn has backed Newcastle 'against anyone' over two legs, whether it is Liverpool, Arsenal or Spurs/Manchester United, while Howe vowed 'we will take on whoever we get' ahead of the Magpies learning their fate on Thursday night. Interestingly, Newcastle have produced some of their best performances against the established order this season: defeating Arsenal and Chelsea, and claiming a deserved point against both league leaders Liverpool and Manchester City before the champions' subsequent collapse. Could that big-game record yet work in Newcastle's favour?
"We have had an ability to bring our A-game, which has been a great quality, and we're going to need that in this competition," Howe added. "But what I'd like to see is to be able to raise our game against any opposition anywhere. I think we're hopefully building towards that with what's happened in the last few weeks."