Newcastle United keep winning feeling despite absence of manager Eddie Howe

LONDON – Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe is missed by his players in the dugout at St James’ Park, but they again did him proud with a 5-0 English Premier League home win over Crystal Palace on April 16 that bolstered their quest for Champions League football next season.

Howe was absent for the second game in succession as he recovers from pneumonia, but following the Magpies’ 4-1 victory over Manchester United last weekend, they put in another superb performance to climb to third in the Premier League table.

“Everyone has shared texts with him and he’s on the road to recovery,” goalscorer Jacob Murphy told Sky Sports. “We’re missing him but once again I think we put in a performance that he’d be really proud of. There’s so many (people) we need to thank for tonight as well that are continuing the great work the gaffer does with us.”

The winger opened the scoring against Palace with a fierce effort from a tight angle that beat goalkeeper Dean Henderson at his near post. The question is, was it a cross or a shot?

“I did mean it, yeah!” Murphy added. “When the juice is flowing, you’ve just got to hit it. The defender has come out, so it was going to be hard to get it through him. I thought, ‘Ah, just shoot here’. Lovely.

“We always knew that the first goal was going to be really important, so I’m happy to get it and happy to start off well.”

Harvey Barnes, Fabian Schar and Alexander Isak were also on target for Newcastle, with Palace defender Marc Guehi scoring an own goal.

The Magpies have won four league games in a row following their 2-1 League Cup final win over Liverpool in March.

“That gave us huge confidence,” said Newcastle assistant manager Jason Tindall, who was deputising for Howe, of lifting the trophy at Wembley.

“We were able to enjoy that for a period of time but we knew what our objectives were for the remainder of the season – to finish as high up the league table as possible.

“The manager always leads and sets that example of never switching off. They’ve gone out there, been really consistent and delivering performances.”

Newcastle have 59 points, five more than sixth-placed Chelsea with six matches left in the campaign. The top five will enter the Champions League next season.

They will go to seventh-placed Aston Villa on April 19, again without Howe, in a vital fixture in the qualification race.

“We are not studying (the table) too hard,” Murphy added. “We’re in a good position but we have to stay on top of our game and keep going.” REUTERS, AFP