Eddie Howe says there is “more to come” from resurgent Newcastle ahead of their trip to Tottenham tomorrow lunchtime.
The Magpies enjoyed an impressive December, moving up to fifth place in the Premier League on the back of four straight wins, including a 2-0 victory at Manchester United on Monday night.
They have not conceded in the league since a 4-2 reverse at Brentford on December 7 and will arrive in North London brimming with confidence.
Howe is delighted with their progress but believes they can still improve.
He said: “There’s always [room to improve], you have to believe that, I do genuinely believe that. There’s more to come, we are playing a lot better, the cohesion in the team has been really strong. Players are playing with confidence and freedom and expressing themselves in a great way.
“But as the challenges go up, we will need to deliver more. These next games we have coming up will challenge us more and we are going to have to respond in a positive way.
“Our attacking players are in good form. We look like we’ve had a good feel about the team. Mentally, I think we are in a good place. So I think we need to roll into the game and try and continue our good form.”
For the first time in 2025! 💪 pic.twitter.com/kPA2uI1gHp
— Newcastle United (@NUFC) January 2, 2025
📰 Table Of Contents
Howe wary of wounded Spurs
As it was on Monday, they will be facing a team gong through a tough spell with Tottenham taking just one point from their last three games and in the midst of a major injury crisis.
Howe dismissed the notion that it was a good time to play Ange Postecoglou’s men, however.
He added: ”I don’t know whether it will be a good game for us or not until afterwards.
“I think it will be an exciting game. I think they always are against Tottenham. We’ve historically had some good matches against them. Both teams have had their moments in those games. One thing for sure is, they’re not going to change their attacking approach. It’s been very effective for them in front of goal. You look at their numbers, they’re very good.”
Botman back
Newcastle will be further boosted by the likely return of Netherlands defender Sven Botman to the matchday squad.
Botman has been absent since March after damaging his ACL but is set to be on the bench tomorrow.
“He’s worked incredibly hard to get himself in a good condition,” said Howe. “He’s had three games, a lot of internal training as well. He’s certainly in and around my thoughts. I’ll have to make a decision on who I think best fits that position. Great to have Sven in and around and available again.
“We’ve taken longer than maybe we normally would have done through respect of the injury he had to try and make sure he has the best chance of staying fit and when he comes back, hitting the ground running, which is absolutely vital.
“I’ve got a decision to make in terms of team selection, but if Sven is in the squad it’s because he’s fit and available.”
England boss Tuchel set to be in attendance
Tomorrow’s game is set to be the first one attended by Thomas Tuchel in his capacity as England boss, not that that was of interest to Howe.
“I’m sure the players will be aware of that, but I think for me it’s irrelevant,” he said.
“It’s us against Tottenham and we’ve got to make sure we turn up at the same place that we were against Manchester United, on the front foot and try and deliver a good performance.”
