'Certainly not' - Eddie Howe strongly hits back at 'easy' Newcastle United suggestion

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Eddie Howe has shut down suggestions that his Newcastle United players lack motivation when facing teams outside the so-called ‘big six’.

Newcastle held Premier League leaders Liverpool to a thrilling 3-3 draw on Wednesday night. They’ve also drawn with Manchester City this campaign and beaten both Tottenham Hotspur and Arsenal, as well as Chelsea in the Carabao Cup.

Compare to results against teams supposed ‘lesser club’, the Magpies have lost to West Ham United, Brighton & Hove Albion and Fulham, and failed to beat the likes of Crystal Palace, Everton and AFC Bournemouth.

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Newcastle United players in a huddle before the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and West Ham United FC at St James' Park on November 25, 2024 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)Newcastle United players in a huddle before the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and West Ham United FC at St James' Park on November 25, 2024 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images)
Newcastle United players in a huddle before the Premier League match between Newcastle United FC and West Ham United FC at St James' Park on November 25, 2024 in Newcastle upon Tyne, England. (Photo by Carl Recine/Getty Images) | Getty Images

But that isn’t through a lack of motivation or desire, according to Howe.

“I don’t think it is clear as motivation,” Howe told NewcastleWorld. “I think that would be, and I understand the question, an easy thing to say. I think the dynamic and challenge of those games are very different, we haven’t adjusted well enough to those.

“It’s certainly not a case of the players not being motivated for the game, you can make that suggestion afterwards but internally there is a lot more to the dynamic than that.

“The players want to do well, want to achieve and win - they are committed to doing that, I see that in their training and the preparation. The delivery sometimes hasn’t been right and we’ll try and find ways to improve that.

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“But I have to make it clear, it’s certainly not through a lack of motivation or lack of desire.”

Howe added: “The missing ingredient is to deliver that whoever and wherever you’re playing. We had that in our Champions League season and that’s why we were able to achieve what we did that year. Regardless of the opposition, it didn’t really matter, you saw the same Newcastle week in and week out.

“It’s not for the want of trying. I can tell you the players are committed to delivering that. We can’t go back, we can only effect the future and try to make sure that we are finding solutions to problems and trying to make the players aware of what we are trying to do.”

The Magpies have all won all three of their Premier League visits to the Gtech Community Stadium, however the Bees currently have the best home record in the division with six wins and one draw.

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