Newcastle United v Sunderland: Eddie Howe is preparing to take charge of his first Tyne-Wear derby at St James’ Park on Sunday.
Eddie Howe wants Newcastle United to learn from the pain of December’s derby defeat at the Stadium of Light when they host Sunderland at St James’ Park on Sunday (12pm kick-off).
Howe admitted the Magpies let supporters down with the 1-0 defeat courtesy of a Nick Woltemade own goal.
Newcastle head into the game on the back of a painful 7-2 Champions League exit at Barcelona in midweek but would secure a third straight Premier League victory with three points on Sunday, having beaten Chelsea and Manchester United previously.
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NUFC let the fans down v Sunderland in December
When asked if Newcastle’s players understood the importance of the game back in December at the Stadium of Light, Howe responded: “Yeah, I think they did know the enormity of the game, but for whatever reason, we just didn't perform to our normal level.
“And no excuses, we have to take accountability for that. I'm not sure drumming that message into them is actually a positive or the right thing to do, because that's just a very negative message.
“I'd much prefer to go with a positive message, because we need to inspire the players, not put fear into them. So it's a very delicate balance with teams and professional athletes.”
Unsurprisingly, the defeat brought with it a strong negative and lingering reaction from the Newcastle supporters.
"I don't think I was overly surprised because of the way we performed,” Howe said about the reaction. "The way we performed wasn't good, it wasn't a great spectacle of us and I don't think we were anywhere near a normal rhythm.
“It was a moment of the season where we were struggling a little bit for our attacking game.
"The fallout was quite long and painful but we try to use that in every experience to try and help us. We don't want that feeling again and we need to make sure our preparation is as good as it can be to help the players."
Is Sunday season defining? Eddie Howe’s wordless reaction
Back in December, Howe was adamant that the defeat at the Stadium of Light would not define his side’s season.
But after exiting all cup competitions and sitting ninth in the table with eight games to play, the Newcastle head coach was asked if he understood that a defeat on Sunday would be season-defining for his side.
The Magpies’ boss paused and shook his head with a wordless reaction, dismissing any negativity ahead of the match.
He then said: “I don't know how to answer that. People will define seasons in different ways, I'm not contemplating defeat, I don't know how I can sit here and do that.
“I'm contemplating trying to win the game, I'm trying to get real momentum into our Premier League season.”
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