Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe spoke to the press ahead of the Premier League game against Wolves on Saturday.
After two weeks of international games, the Magpies are back and ready for their return to St James’ Park.
Newcastle United welcome Wolves to the North East on Saturday, with both teams eager to pick up their first win of the season. It is very important for the Magpies to hit the ground running, as this is the start of a 23-day run which includes a staggering seven matches.
Eddie Howe is ready for a big three weeks, but a lot of rotation will be needed, with two Champions League games and a Carabao Cup tie in the offing.
Newcastle’s lineup against Wolves may include some slight rotation due to some players returning late from international duty. With that in mind, Howe has shared how the break has been a blessing in disguise for him.
Eddie Howe runs with the ball during a Newcastle United Training Session
Photo by Serena Taylor/Newcastle United via Getty Images
Eddie Howe says Newcastle United players trained well during the international break
Top players like Dan Burn, Bruno Guimaraes and Sandro Tonali were away on international duty for their respective countries, leaving many other stars to get more personal training with Howe and his coaching team ahead of the busy schedule.
The likes of Malick Thiaw, who joined the Magpies in August, should now be well up to speed with Howe’s style of football thanks to his more focused training during the international break.
In his pre-match press conference on Friday, Howe hinted that the international break was a positive for the players who were lacking in match sharpness, as they will now be more up to speed.
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“It’s been a good batch of training for us,” he said.
“We always enjoy training with the players, albeit with some different numbers on different days which is always a good challenge to keep them entertained and mentally stimulated for the two weeks.
“I feel like those players that have stayed needed some work and we’ve got some good work into them. They’re certainly better in a physical condition.
“With the schedule we have coming up, we always knew how this season looked for us, with a slow start in terms of week-to-week games and then we’re going to be into a storm of games.
“That’s what we want. It’s going to be a great period for us in terms of challenges, quick turnarounds and the whole squad ready to play and that’s why the last two weeks has been good as we’ve been able to get work into the players that needed it.”
Eddie Howe can experiment with his Newcastle United starting XI during the busy fixture run
While he played for Germany during the international break, Nick Woltemade returned earlier than others and trained with the Newcastle players for a few days before the Wolves game.
His involvement in first-team training means that Woltemade is in line to start for Newcastle against Wolves on Saturday, especially after Yoane Wissa’s injury setback.
After Wolves, Howe then has the opportunity to experiment with his starting XI in the next few games during the fixture run. Newcastle will be keen to play their strongest squad against Barcelona on Thursday, but then there are games against the likes of Bradford and Bournemouth, where Howe can take a more open approach to his starting line-ups.
Additionally, Anthony Gordon will be back from suspension in September, giving Howe more firepower in the Premier League. In the meantime, he can still play Champions League and Carabao Cup football.