• Eddie Howe has called on his players to answer the ‘big questions’ around them
• The Magpies will be hoping to secure a place in next year’s Champions League
Eddie Howe has warned his Newcastle players they must answer the ‘big question’ that remains over their consistency, if they are to qualify for the ‘game-changing’ Champions League.
The head coach and his players return to Premier League action at home to Brentford on Wednesday after more than a fortnight of celebration in the wake of their Carabao Cup victory, the club’s first domestic trophy in 70 years.
They produced their best performance of the season at Wembley during the 2-1 win over Liverpool, but their league form has not been so good, winning six and losing four of their last 10.
Howe knows the importance of a top-five finish and a return to the Champions League, given the club’s battle against PSR restrictions.
And that is why he says he and his team need to address the one weakness which has plagued their season.
‘That is the big question mark against us (consistency) and I include myself in that,’ said Howe. ‘That is the big question, can we be that team that we were against Liverpool? You can’t be there every game, but you can still reach a standard and win the game. That is what we have got to try and do.
‘We have done it, we played West Ham before the final, didn’t play great, but won the game 1-0 through defensive steel, really. We have to find ways to win games when we are not at our best.’
Champions League qualification would have a major impact on Newcastle’s capacity to spend and retain their best players this summer, with Alexander Isak being watched by Barcelona among others.
And Howe said: ‘There’s no doubting the power of Champions League football. It could be game-changing in terms of revenue, and the changes you have to make to be ready for Champions League football.
‘But for us, qualifying is going to be very difficult. There are a lot of teams competing for those places. It’s one of the tightest Premier Leagues that we’ve seen in recent times. It’s going to come down to who is the most consistent.’
Newcastle were beaten in the Carabao Cup final two years ago and went on to make the top four, and Howe added: ‘It’s interesting that you mention that, because that’s not been lost on us. The pain of losing the final, although it obviously was a big disappointment, fired us in the Premier League, so we used that pain to win eight out of 10 games, which was a brilliant response.
‘How are we going to respond to success? That’s a really different feeling, but I think we need the outcome to be similar. It needs to fuel us, it needs to help us, not hinder us.’
