Eddie Howe Discusses Injuries, Christmas Schedule, and Impact of Winning Ahead of Aston Villa Match

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe addressed the media prior to Thursday’s Premier League fixture against Aston Villa, scheduled for a 15:00 GMT kick-off. The following are the key points from his news conference: Howe confirmed that Joelinton’s availability would be assessed on Monday, after the midfielder sustained “various facial injuries after the last home game against Brentford.” He also stated that Joe Willock “is fine” and stressed the “really important” need for him to play a consistent run of games to reach his peak performance. Regarding Nick Pope, Howe mentioned the player received “a couple of injections in his knee,” but it remains “still difficult to give a definitive date” for his return. On the topic of training during the Christmas period, Howe commented: “We will get them in training but won’t keep them for any longer than they need to be in and then they can enjoy Christmas like everybody else.” Howe remarked that “winning changes everything” and expressed that he “will enjoy the Christmas period if we are successful,” though he does not believe that feeling is “different to any other time of year.” Discussing how confidence affects players’ performances, he stated: “It changes the players’ feel and emotions. The challenge for us is to get every player in the best frame of mind possible. We have seen from the whole squad an improvement from the start of the season.” He further added: “We are in a much better place. But it is important we don’t get distracted and focus on the games. We have some brilliant fixtures to enjoy, but we will only enjoy them if we are at our best.” Referring to Newcastle’s unbeaten home record against Aston Villa since 2005, Howe said: “Previous games don’t tell you anything about what is going to happen in the future. We really enjoyed playing at home in the past few games. Our home performances in general have been very good, so more of the same would be very welcome.” Addressing the challenge of facing Unai Emery’s team, he commented: “This will be a really good challenge for us. I think they have good depth in their squad – they have some really good players. Their style is very difficult to play against. They’re very well coached, very well drilled.”