Newcastle manager Eddie Howe: The players are in a good position now

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe expressed his delight with his team’s impressive 3-0 victory over host Leicester City on Monday evening, concluding the 31st round of the English Premier League.

Newcastle’s goals came in the first half, with Jacob Murphy opening the scoring just 113 seconds into the match. Murphy then doubled the lead in the 11th minute after rebounding from Fabian Schar’s shot, which rebounded off the crossbar. Harvey Barnes then completed the rout in the 34th minute.

Newcastle now sits in fifth place with 53 points, boosting their hopes of a top-four finish in the Champions League next season.

Newcastle are only four goals behind fourth-place Chelsea, who are level on points with them, although the McPhysicians still have a game in hand.

Howe feels his team “looks united,” saying after the match at the King Power Stadium: “We had a great start. We scored a great first goal, which was a great execution of our style of play.”

Howe added, as reported by the British news agency (PA Media), “That was a big question mark for us, how we were going to deal with the euphoria of winning the League Cup. The players responded brilliantly. It’s a positive sign for our mental state.”

Howe explained: “At the beginning of the season, we were frustrated with our performances and effort in some games. It was unusual. It’s never happened before in my time here, but we’re in a good place now.”

Newcastle now face the prospect of playing three matches in six days, starting with the team’s home match against Manchester United next Sunday.

The Newcastle manager believes the coming week will be full of challenges, adding: “The players have a lot of experience and have been through a lot in their careers. Playing three matches in six days will be a big test for us. We will need all the players.”