Eddie Howe feels Saturday’s mouth-watering Premier League clash between Newcastle and Liverpool at St. James’ Park is a chance for his Magpies side to showcase the extent of their progress of late.
The game pits two of the division’s most in-form sides against one another; Jürgen Klopp’s title-chasing Reds are one of only three teams to pick up more points than United over the last ten matches, and – with a Carabao Cup already in the bag – are still in the hunt for three trophies as the final weeks of the campaign approach.
A hat-trick of home wins effectively wrapped up the Magpies’ top-flight safety, meanwhile, while last week’s win at Norwich elevated Howe’s charges into the top half of the table – a highest Premier League finish for a decade now a very realistic possibility despite a dreadful start to the season, which included a 15-game winless run.
United were still in the thick of a relegation battle when they lost 3-1 to Liverpool in December but, with the struggles of the autumn and winter now something of a distant memory, Howe has challenged his players to take their game to another level and turn in a statement performance as the eyes of the world turn to St. James’ on Saturday.
“Thinking back to that game (at Anfield), I thought we performed well,” he said. “It was very close – I mean, we’re still frustrated by their first goal, which I don’t think should have stood at the time. And the third goal right at the end of the game was just a great strike, and that made it look more comfortable than it was for them that night. We’re going to need a similar display in terms of our resilience and work ethic, but I think we’re going to need to show a little bit more quality going the other way and test them as much as we can. We’re playing an outstanding team – probably one of the best in the world – and it’s a great chance for us to see how far we’ve come.
“I think Liverpool and Manchester City are the two tests – the league table tells you that. They give you the biggest examination. Our home form has been excellent, and the atmosphere and the feel around the ground has been absolutely brilliant to be a part of. I anticipate the atmosphere tomorrow will be electric at the start of the game, and we have to feed off that and use that to galvanise us against a world-class team.
“We know that nothing but our best tomorrow – and I’d probably say better than we’ve delivered so far – will be good enough. I’ve watched Liverpool for a long period of time, and they’re an incredible team. They have a way of winning games even when they’re not at their best, which is probably the hallmark of a great team. And when they’re at their best, they’re almost unstoppable. We don’t quite know what Liverpool we’ll face but we have to concentrate on us. We have to be perfect defensively and we have to give them something to think about from an attacking sense. I think we have the players to do that – it’s just whether we can get our players at their very best levels.”
Ahead of the Reds’ visit to Tyneside, Howe was also asked a little more about Fabian Schär’s contract extension, with the Swiss defender having put pen to paper on a new two-year deal at St. James’ this week.
“He’s got vast experience. I really like him as a player and I think he’s performed very, very well,” Howe said of the 30-year-old. “He had a long spell out of the team and to come back into the team initially was quite difficult for him, but he’s picked up his rhythm and his form. I think everyone knows that Fabi is technically a very, very good footballer and the big thing he’s proved is that he can defend very, very effectively within the team structure we’ve given him.
“I’m delighted with him. He’s been the ultimate professional off the pitch, as well. He’s very driven and a big part of our leadership within the team. He’s a role model for the younger players to look at, so yes, I’m delighted.”