soccer

Howe hopeful of 'great' future as mood lifted

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A lot can change at Newcastle United in the space of just a few days.

Eddie Howe was fielding questions about his position at his last news conference on Monday.

However, on Friday, the head coach was talking up the possibility of a "great" future for his side following a 2-1 victory against Tottenham Hotspur.

"That's what winning does," he said. "It's such an amazing thing. It can change the perspective of everyone.

"It was a big win for us but now we have got to try and back it up – and we're searching for that consistency."

That is an understatement.

Newcastle have yet to win back-to-back away games in all competitions this season. In fact, this team have only won four matches on their travels.

So it was hardly a surprise, then, that Howe admitted a trip to Villa Park in the fourth round of the FA Cup was "not the draw we wanted".

But Saturday's game feels like a chance for this side to take another big step forward as these players continue to gel following a chaotic summer.

"It has ended up being inconsistent and a little bit up and down," Howe added.

"Don't get me wrong, we could have done better and there are certainly things that we could improve, but I think longer term we'll be better for it if we can work through this season and this period.

"The biggest thing is to find a clear identify and a clear way of playing, and then we can see what the future looks like with this team. If it's positive then that could be a great thing."

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