The Magpies take on Man City with Euro hopes in the balance ahead of next season
BUXTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: A detailed view of the FA Cup Trophy on the pitch prior to the Emirates FA Cup Second Round match between Buxton F.C. and Morecambe F.C. at the Tarmac Silverlands Stadium on December 04, 2021 in Buxton, England. (Photo by Alex Livesey/Getty Images)
Arsenal and Chelsea are fighting for the trophy(Image: Alex Livesey, Getty Images)
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Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has made it clear he wants to broaden the horizon as wide as possible at St James' Park going into the run-in.
The Magpies' chances of silverware will be firmly put to the test against Manchester City at St James' Park as Newcastle seek revenge for their Carabao Cup semi-final KO. With Newcastle way off the pace in the Champions League and Europa League hunt via the Premier League, winning the FA Cup could be the most straight-forward route into Europe with a win over Pep Guardiola's side leaving them three steps from continental competition.
There are still wild dreams of success in the Champions League ahead of the mouth-watering last 16 tie against Barcelona. Howe also knows that Newcastle are still in with a sniff of getting into the Europa Conference League if they can put a run together in the top-flight.
Either way, the season could be one of the best ever on Tyneside, or things could look very bleak by May if Newcastle fail to qualify at all for Europe.
Howe told Chronicle Live: "I'm not sure on the word bleak! It's the world we live in, the highs and lows. The positive and negative. For me I can't look at things that way.
"I've just got to approach things the right way, I've got an FA Cup game against Man City which is a great game, it is one of the standout games of the FA Cup draw.
"I think we have to be really positive after the game with Man United especially with the way we played and the late winner, let's try to use all that positive energy to attack this game. Let's try to get in the next round."
Newcastle have more than puncher's chance against Man City with 50,000 Geordie fans waiting for Guardiola and his team for an 8pm kick off on the back of the major high of beating Man United in the last minute in midweek thanks to William Osula's wonder goal.
When asked if the FA Cup was the best bet of getting into Europe, Howe said: "Yes, possibly. We just want to try and win. Yes, there are by-products behind winning and advancing in various competitions, but I don’t think we can look at it that way.
"We want the glory of trying to win a trophy. The hard bit is navigating the rounds to get there, and there is none harder than this. We’ve been given the hardest tie we could have been. The players’ mindset has been to try and win every game."
Howe's lack of rotation has been targeted by some critics this term - the penalty shootout win over Bournemouth and the second leg of the Champions League against Qarabag two in particular - but he stuck with his policy of keeping the dream alive in all competitions.
Howe said: "I’ve been criticised previously for taking the cup seriously, this season especially because people have felt it’s given us too many games.
"But that’s the way we have to be when representing this club. We will have the same attitude again and will try to win the game and see where it takes us."
Howe said he was looking into ways of competing without the prospects of certain competitions taking a dent. As Newcastle sit in the bottom half of the table going into the final nine matches, Howe said: "‘We need to find a way to be successful consistently. There will always be people who will analyse your season in one direction or another.
"We want that long-term consistent success. We have struggled this year with the demands that are placed upon us. I think, if you look at it logically, people can understand why. But there is no excuse that will be given to us and no allowances made.
"So we’re trying to find a way to navigate our way through this period by winning games and progressing as far as we can in every competition."
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