LONDON : Newcastle United will go into the League Cup final against Liverpool in good heart, manager Eddie Howe said after his team beat West Ham United 1-0 to move sixth in the Premier League on Monday.
The north east club have not won a major trophy for 70 years but did not let Sunday’s showdown distract them as a Bruno Guimaraes goal in the 63rd minute kept them firmly in the frame to qualify for the Champions League.
It was a timely boost for Newcastle who had lost three of their previous four Premier League games.
“One of our best wins of the season, not in terms of performance but desire and heart,” Howe said.
“We’ll focus fully on Liverpool now. We’ll take everything into consideration. I felt we were in need of a win to go into the final with a real boost and lift.
“Will do us the world of good. Also for our league table position today was vital.”
Howe hinted that the wait ahead of the final has been a distraction for his players but that Monday’s display showed the ingredients needed to be a successful team.
“That’s why for me it was such a good win, it would be easy for the players to be distracted but they were present,” he said. “These games, we learned this last time can be quite a long wait, everyone talking about it but you have massive games ahead. Pleased it’s here, hopefully we can perform well.”
It is the second time in three seasons that Howe has taken Newcastle to the League Cup final. In 2023 they lost to Manchester United.
Howe selected goalkeeper Nick Pope ahead of Martin Dubravka on Monday and said deciding who would start at Wembley was a tough decision.
“Difficult call, but it is not the only one,” he said. “The goalkeeper situation has not been clear as both goalkeepers have been high-class. I was pleased with Nick today.
“You look for the best man for the job. You take form, training and everything into consideration. Tough calls to make.”
