Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe has been chatting with the media earlier than Saturday’s Premier League sport in opposition to at St James’ Park (kick-off 15:00 BST).
Listed below are the important thing strains from his information convention:
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Newcastle’s 3-0 victory over Benfica within the Champions League was “a welcome efficiency and end result” and has given the squad “a great feeling” going into their subsequent match.
There aren’t any new damage considerations. All people got here by the midweek fixture with none main points, regardless of there being “a few sore our bodies” within the squad.
Sandro Tonali might be “contact and go” to face Fulham. The midfielder is being monitored after coaching on Wednesday and never feeling 100%.
When requested in regards to the contract extension Tonali signed throughout his betting ban, Howe replied: “Loads occurred round that point, there have been a lot of discussions between his representatives and the membership. There was a contract scenario involving the sacrificial wages he volunteered, which I assumed spoke volumes about his mentality and the way he performed himself throughout that interval. The membership got here to an settlement on the extension of his contract, which is a good factor.”
Howe praised the followers for being “completely unbelievable” with Tonali since he joined the membership, including: “He felt their love and assist, which I believe he wanted at the moment, and now we’re seeing the advantages.”
On Lewis Corridor and Tino Livramento, who’re at the moment sidelined with accidents, Howe mentioned: “It was Tino’s first time on the grass right this moment, he’s making actually good progress and we’re actually pleased with him. Lewis has been on the grass for some time, pushing himself and doing back-to-back periods.”
The timeline for Yoane Wissa’s return “hasn’t modified” however he’s “on observe and doing effectively”. The plan is to “begin to push him somewhat bit more durable” however he’ll “want a little bit of a pre-season” earlier than his return to first-team motion.
Howe addressed the “two very disappointing outcomes” in opposition to Fulham final season: “We all know the qualities of their group and this might be a tough sport for us. While you go from the excessive emotion of the Champions League again to the afternoon kick-offs within the Premier League, it’s a large psychological problem. We now have to rise to that and develop from the experiences we have had beforehand.”
Nick Woltemade had his finest “bodily efficiency” in opposition to Benfica and Howe added: “His urgent from the entrance, his sturdiness and his robustness was wonderful, however the problem for him is with the ability to put in that form of efficiency each three or 4 days now – and that is not simple.”
The striker’s availability for Saturday’s sport might be assessed after their “full coaching day” on Friday.