Eddie Howe leads his team into Champions League action tomorrow.
A 5.45pm (GMT) kick-off in Baku, as Newcastle United take on Qarabag in a play-off first leg, with the second leg next Tuesday at St James’ Park.
The winners going through to the last 16 of the Champions League.
Newcastle United hoping to be still fighting on three fronts, as they head into March.
UEFA official media have been speaking to the Newcastle United boss, asking Eddie Howe about how his style of coaching has evolved down the years: “Very early on, I realised I had to be a pragmatist. I had to be very mindful of the fact that what we had [at Bournemouth], in my very early days as a coach, we had to maximise. And to do that, it was very simple game plans, very effective, trying to win the game to really protect our livelihoods and stay working and keep the club that I was working for alive.”
Eddie Howe enjoyed incredible success with Bournemouth (with a brief spell at Burnley in the middle of that rise through the divisions), taking the minnows from the brink of non-league all the way through to the Premier League.
Them 8 November 2021, getting his chance at Newcastle United, initially presented with a shambles inherited from Steve Bruce and Mike Ashley, relegation looking a near certainty, though if getting through that hugely challenging initial situation, the potential for exciting times ahead.
Eddie Howe on what has then transpired: “And then as I’ve been able to build knowledge and resources, I’ve become more of an idealist and trying to produce a team that I’m proud to manage, I’m proud to watch and I’m excited to watch. You go with the evolution of the game. You go through trends to where I am now. And I’ve got no worries in saying, I’ll do what it takes to win, but I want to do it in a style that I enjoy watching.”
The NUFC boss has done an amazing job, on and off the pitch.
However, his ability to improve both new signings and inherited players, has been another level.
UEFA media asking Eddie Howe whether coaching has been more difficult than he expected: “I thought it was going to be hard anyway. There was no part of me, when I was a player, that thought ‘That looks easy’. But I think when you’re doing it, it’s only then you truly realise the size of the job you’re doing because you’re having to balance so many different things. You’ve got players, you’ve got staff, supporters, media. You’ve got to try and get each part of those relationships as strong as you can and treat everyone as well as you can while trying to win games of football, which sounds quite simple, but it’s a delicate act. You’ve got to try to get it right every single day. And the brain is always thinking of one of those aspects, even when you’re asleep. So, it’s all consuming.”