Whilst Eddie Howe may have had a concerned look on his face at full time today, the gaffer will have no doubt been one of the most relieved in attendance at St James’ Park as Newcastle United confirmed their return to the Champions League.
Despite losing to David Moyes’ Everton on the final day, Howe has coached one of the best seasons in the club’s history, and will no doubt be raring to go again in August.
Here’s what Howe had to say after the drama of the final day, the emotional scenes and what lies ahead for him and Newcastle United.
A second half header from Carlos Alcaraz proved to be the difference between ourselves and Everton as we ended the season on a frustrating, underwhelming defeat.
However, we could finally count on those around us losing, as Nottingham Forest and Aston Villa both succumbed to defeat and handed us Champions League qualification.
Reflecting on the club’s progress this campaign, Howe looked past today’s loss and gave a positive verdict on the last 10 months.
“It’s a huge moment for the club. Throughout this year, there have been so many things, not just mentally but tactically, and the game evolves so quickly. It’s been a brilliant Premier League season.”
“Naturally, when you lose the game, there’s a feeling of disappointment, but I think we have to override that with over the 38 games, Newcastle United deserved to qualify for the Champions League.”
On this afternoon’s rollercoaster of emotions
Having come 4th back in the 2022/23 campaign, and painfully missing out on the Conference League last season, we’ve been clamouring for Champions League nights to return to Tyneside.
And even after a shaky period in the second half, results elsewhere rejuvenated fan hopes inside the stadium and at home.
Reflecting on the emotions of the game, Howe commented: “It was only when it looked like we were struggling to score in that second half and our result was in jeopardy, that the other results became more important for us.”
“But all the way through the game we were still trying to find a way to score and claw ourselves a way back into the game.”
“I think there was a point with about five minutes to go that it looked like, barring an amazing last five or 10 minutes, we were there.”
If Howe hadn’t already written his name into Toon folklore for the Carabao Cup heroics back in March, then helping us return to the Champions League on two different occasions will certainly have done it.
And whilst Howe will no doubt be relishing the challenge of playing against Europe’s elite, qualifying for the Champions League will afford Howe some unprecedented spending and transfer opportunities not yet seen in his tenure as manager.
“The power of the Champions League and the pull of the Champions League is huge.”
“The excitement this will bring the people here, and of course it’s a selling point for us now, it’s an opportunity to sell that dream to future players that might be considering coming to us.
“As I said, we have to get the financials right, we have to get the other aspects of trying to sign a player right. Hopefully, we can do that.”