Eddie Howe has made adjustments to Newcastle United’s Carabao Cup final preparation.
Newcastle’s return trip to Wembley will have a different approach to the 2023 defeat at the hands of Manchester United with the Magpies manager making a switch behind the scenes to help prepare for Sunday.
There is a different feel in the run-up to this year’s final. Perhaps it’s the disappointment of 2023 still lingering, or maybe the tough few weeks with results, injuries and suspensions have put a dampener on the occasion.
Internally, the latest news coming from the Toon camp is that the occasion isn’t enough – all focus is on making sure the squad can compete the best they can to bring the trophy back to the North East.
Newcastle’s approach to this year’s cup final is a stark difference to the one that came two years ago, according to Mark Douglas at [the i](https://inews.co.uk/sport/football/how-newcastle-eddie-howe-mental-scars-hidden-ace-3578462).
The approach to the final of 2023 saw a heavy media presence and an inflated sense of importance and stress from within the club; something that measures have been taken to eradicate this time around.
Douglas writes that the message is to “remove the sense of the occasion” by making tweaks that hopefully allow the squad to focus on matters on the football pitch.
A mandatory pre-final press conference has been pushed back to Friday to tone down the build-up, while rights holder media duties were completed last week to ensure there is not a rush of interviews and coverage on final week.
The ticket sales process has also been made easier for players to avoid adding further stress on that front, allowing them to place the majority of their energy on preparing for the game; not the occasion.
Douglas has added that there is a marked difference on the media approach from what happened two years ago, in what feels a bit farcical in hindsight.
It’s neither wonder Howe and co. are opting to just play the game, not the occasion, as the club got wrapped up in the excitement of our first League Cup final since 1976. Douglas wrote:
‘Back then media were invited into the club’s indoor training barn, desks were set up and players shuffled between media, broadcast and local press to speak. It was fun, a sort of mini-NFL Super Bowl arrangement, but added to the sense that this was something a bit bigger than your usual weekend.
‘Go back and watch the Amazon documentary of the season and you witness then co-owner Amanda Staveley embrace the emotion of it all, taking a trip through the city to look at window displays.
‘Sweet letters from family members of the players that documented their pride at what they might achieve were sourced and published 24 hours before the final.
‘The ownership group snuck out of their hotel to take smartphone snaps of the mass gathering of Newcastle fans drinking in Trafalgar Square. Was it all a bit too much? That appears to be the conclusion of Eddie Howe.’