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Newcastle United miss a trick as Eddie Howe admits he’s not getting the best out of ‘unquestionable’ star
Jonathan Gorrie
4 – 5 minutes
Newcastle United are in a very strong position.
After winning the Carabao Cup for the first time in their history, Newcastle United have a brilliant chance to qualify for next season’s Champions League.
Indeed, Newcastle beat Brentford 2-1 on Wednesday to briefly move to fifth in the Premier League table, albeit Chelsea have since overtaken Eddie Howe’s side.
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Still, the Magpies boast a game in hand on the Blues – as well as most of the other teams in contention – and finishing in the top five could well be enough to reach Europe’s elite club competition once again, with English clubs currently on course to be awarded five spots.
However, nothing is done yet of course. Newcastle will be expected to beat both Leicester and Manchester United next week but there are still difficult games against Crystal Palace and Aston Villa on the horizon to navigate.
The Newcastle United manager will need his players, particularly the experienced ones, to continue to step up over the coming weeks.
Kieran Trippier will be of particular importance.
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With Lewis Hall injured for the rest of the season, Trippier will most likely continue at right-back with Tino Livramento out on the left.
Trippier picked up a knock ahead of Newcastle’s game against Leicester, though will be assessed before Monday’s clash.
After a difficult time of things last season, the 34-year-old has returned to form.
Trippier was brilliant as Newcastle won the Carabao Cup final and is starting to look like the player who helped transform the club’s fortunes back in 2022.
Still, Howe admits his team should be doing more to get the right-back involved in their attacking play, such is his “unquestionable” quality on the ball.
The defender is yet to register a Premier League assist this season, albeit he has only started eight times thus far.
“Kieran has been excellent in the last few games,” he said.
“If you look at his direct opponents, he’s done a really good job on them.
“He’s shown he can defend which, as a defender, the first port of call. His ability on the ball is unquestionable and we need to work better as a team to try and get him into the final third a little bit more because his crossing is second to none.”
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Trippier himself is one of Newcastle’s best signings in the modern era. His quality and leadership in equal measure have been hugely important since the PIF takeover.
However, his impact on the club goes further than that. During the Carabao Cup final celebrations, Bruno Guimaraes admitted Trippier convinced him to sign for Newcastle.
An absolute game-changer for the club, it’s fantastic to see him return to form. If Howe’s side can start to unlock some of his creativity again, it could be a brilliant end to the season.
