Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United, lifts the Carabao Cup Trophy after his team's victory during the Carabao Cup Final between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium on March 16, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images)placeholder image
Eddie Howe, Manager of Newcastle United, lifts the Carabao Cup Trophy after his team's victory during the Carabao Cup Final between Liverpool and Newcastle United at Wembley Stadium on March 16, 2025 in London, England. (Photo by Stu Forster/Getty Images) | Getty Images
There is zero chance of Newcastle United tossing the FA Cup aside to focus on the Premier League season.
Eddie Howe has declared Newcastle United are taking the FA Cup seriously and aim to repeat last year’s Wembley heroics.
A minority of supporters on social media believe losing tomorrow would not be the end of the world. Losing to Aston Villa - and thus exiting the competition - would ease Newcastle’s fixture congestion.
The Magpies are underperforming at Premier League level, with injuries mounting in recent weeks. Some argue that focusing on the stuttering league campaign should be the sole focus - even at the expense of the FA Cup.
‘We are here to win’ - Eddie Howe
Speaking to reporters this morning, Howe reiterated that Newcastle look to win every game, with the famous Carabao Cup win fuelling the motivation to upset the odds at Villa Park. He said: “We are here to try and win. I’ve said so many times, we loved last year in the Carabao Cup and what that meant to everybody, what that meant to us, the experience we went through to win the competition and we'd love to do it in any other way that we can.
“If that is the FA Cup then that would be a great opportunity for us. We look at tomorrow as just an opportunity to win this game that's in front of us. We've then got a long travel (in) midweek in the Champions League, but we'll worry about that when we get there. All focus and all eyes are on this game.”
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Eddie Howe makes ‘tough’ admission
Howe also acknowledged Villa away being a “tough” draw but promised to try and “make the cost worthwhile” to supporters. He added: “It's a tough draw. Whenever you're away from home, especially with the run that we're on away from home, in terms of the consecutive fixtures, I wouldn't say we think too deeply about it in the moment. You absorb it, you take it in, you go ‘Well, that's not ideal’ and then you quickly move on.
“That's where we are. The more sympathy for the supporters who, as you say, have to make all the sacrifices and the travel arrangements to get to Birmingham for the game. Now our job is to make all that travel and all that disruption to their lives and the cost worthwhile.”
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