Eddie Howe has been talking ahead of Newcastle United taking on West Ham.
United preparing for their 57th match of the season.
Newcastle United looking to build on the four points gained in the last two Premier League matches.
Eddie Howe and his players set to face a West Ham side that are desperately fighting relegation.
A final home match and in total only two games of the season left to go for NUFC.
Eddie Howe speaking at his Newcastle United pre-match press conference ahead of facing West Ham:
Eddie Howe on Sunday’s match:
“We are very much all systems go and trying to win the last two games. It is massive for us. There’s no part of me that thinks any different. It is the last home game of the season and it’s really, really important from our perspective that we finish the season with a positive feeling and we show our supporters how important every game is to us. We pride ourselves on that. There will be no part of our preparation that will be any different. We have trained every day this week, we have trained hard, we have trained well. I’m pleased with how the players look. We’ve been competitive, and we need that competitive edge. We have to do ourselves justice first and foremost, without thinking about anyone else.”
Eddie Howe on the fitness and availability of Lewis Hall and Joelinton:
“Lewis is fine, he’s trained this week. We have got no problems with his fitness. We have got a doubt over Joelinton who has a slight thigh problem, so we will assess him in the next couple of days.”
Eddie Howe on Kieran Trippier, the final home match before he leaves this summer and Wor Flags set to put on a special tribute to him ahead of kick-off:
“I think he is definitely deserving of that recognition. The actual decision to come here in the first place needs to be celebrated because he’s gone from a team that was hugely successful in Spain to a team that was fighting relegation in the Premier League. Everyone said it was financially motivated initially but I can tell that it wasn’t. I think it was a host of reasons and only Kieran can discuss those, but certainly financial wasn’t one of them. (It was) the challenge of returning to the Premier League, hopefully Jason (Tindall) and I played a part in that with our relationship, and wanting to take that fight on in his career position was probably a big risk, but he took it on and I’m so pleased for him that it was rewarded because there was no guarantee that that was going to be the case.
“The team stayed up and of course then never looked back. It was strange because a lot of people forget that he got injured initially and didn’t really contribute on the pitch as he would have wanted to initially in our fight against relegation – it was more the next season where he then played an unbelievable part in our run to the Champions League where we lost, I think, four games that season. He was pivotal with the rest of the back four that were magnificent that year, with Nick Pope behind them, that transformed our defensive output.
“And that’s probably my biggest memory of him and then, along with the cup final win, where I thought he was magnificent that day – an absolutely gigantic performance, and he got the feeling of lifting the cup with Bruno Guimaraes and Jamaal Lascelles.”
Eddie Howe talking about Lewis Hall, who on Thursday was nominated for Premier League Young Player of the Season:
“I think he’s had a really good season. He started the season, if I remember this right, recovering from his injury I think, and then proved his fitness and gained strength throughout the season.
“He had a really, really good middle part of the season, where he was very consistent, played regularly, looked physically really good in amongst the period where we were playing loads of games. He really contributed and put in some eye-catching displays. He would be a worthy winner.”
Anthony Gordon has been an unused sub these last two matches after returning from injury. When asked, Eddie Howe admitting his non-selection of Anthony Gordon is partly because of “the future”…
“I think that when you get to this stage of the season, part of what we will be doing we will be naturally looking to next season. Anthony has just come back from injury and I think the team has played well in his absence [these last two matches] and selection is with a partial view to the future, yes.”
Would Eddie Howe select Anthony Gordon if he was needed to get a result?
“If it is the right thing for the team…I put the team and the club above any individual…then I would play him of course.”
Eddie Howe on Fabian Schar:
“I don’t think Fabian will make the last two games which is a real shame for him. He was close to returning a few weeks ago and then he suffered the infection which set him back. He is back running again and looking healthy, but there is a big difference between that and actually playing.”