Pat Nevin sees a lot of Newcastle United.
The former Chelsea and Everton winger is a regular visitor to St James’ Park.
On this occasion, however, Pat Nevin has spent the last seven days watching United in Azerbaijan.
Eddie Howe and his players achieved a brilliant 6-1 victory in Baku.
Now we have to get the job done tonight against Qarabag at St James’ Park.
Pat Nevin made a statement ahead of this Champions League match; “This week I traveled 5,000 miles from Scotland to Azerbaijan via Turkey and back to see Qarabag against Newcastle before embarking on a 600 mile return journey to Nottingham. I have to admit I felt a little tired when I got home late on Sunday evening, but what about the players who have covered the same miles and played two grueling games into the bargain. OK, they may have been traveling first class, but it must still be tiring.”
The BBC Sport pundit goes on to say: “That’s why I was so incredibly impressed with Newcastle United. They were close to Manchester City on Saturday night and every player gave every ounce of energy, just like they always do. Eddie Howe said afterwards that he was proud of his players for giving everything. This is a standard line you get from any manager, but you can see that this comment came from the heart.”
It was an excellent performance at the Etihad and full credit to Eddie Howe and his players, who had won their three previous away games in the space of a week.
Pat Nevin goes on to say: “Newcastle are basically done after that Anthony Gordon-inspired 6-1 Champions League defeat but you still hear the strange rumblings about the team’s underperformance in the Premier League. They may be mid-table but I don’t think anyone can get more out of the group than Eddie and the vast majority of fans know this. Five years is a long time in football management but I think this should be just the start for one of the best bosses in the business.”
I completely agree.
#excellent #Pat #Nevin #Eddie #Howe #Newcastle #United