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Howe says Magpies won't underestimate "dangerous" Wolves
Written by Tom Easterby
Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe says his side won't underestimate Wolves as the Magpies bid to maintain their unbeaten start to the campaign at Molineux on Sunday (2pm kick-off).
United were held by Manchester City in their last Premier League outing last weekend before a comeback win at Tranmere Rovers in Wednesday's Carabao Cup clash kept Howe's men unblemished record so far in 2022/23.
And Newcastle's head coach - who will be without the services of full back Emil Krafth after he suffered a knee injury in the midweek win at Prenton Park - warned that Bruno Lage's men are "a dangerous team" that the Magpies must be ready for.
Here are some of the other key points that were addressed at Howe's pre-match media briefing on Friday morning...
On Lage's Wolves:
"It's very early to draw too many conclusions from anything really at this stage, but Wolves are an outstanding team. They've signed very well, they've recruited very well - if you look at the quality of the players they have in midfield, they've got three or four very good technicians in there and some very good attacking players.
"We don't underestimate them at all. Bruno's done a great job and now I think they're a bit more fluid - they play different systems. They're a dangerous team."
On Callum Wilson, who was withdrawn with a hamstring problem after scoring against City last weekend, and concerns over his fitness:
"I back Callum 100 per cent. I've known him for a long, long time. I've never met someone with a better attitude to sport and a better professional.
"He's hugely disappointed to miss any game, but I back him and his body. He's such an important part of our future and this season he's already shown that with the goals that he's scored - the two goals he's scored have been of the highest level. I doubt doubt Callum for a second."
On Allan Saint-Maximin and his search for consistency:
"I think with any player, the responsibility lies with him, first and foremost, and Allan's performance last week was down to him - no-one else. I thought he was excellent in every aspect of his game.
"I think the consistency aspect has to come from how he lives his life, how he prepares for training, how he prepares for the next game, and I think if you're consistent with your actions during the week, you'll be consistent with your performance.
"We need to help him with that, obviously, and we are, and we will continue to do so. We're trying to give him the right support, the right framework, the right team around him, to show his skills on a weekly basis."
On United's current injury situation ahead of the trip to Molineux:
"We've got a worry over Emil Krafth. We don't know what the detail of that injury is currently - he's going for a scan today, I think. Currently it doesn't look too good so that's a real shame for Emil and for us, but until we get the scan results, we don't know.
"We hope Dan (Burn) will be available, Ryan (Fraser) will be available. (Jamaal Lascelles) should be fine. Emil has a knee problem, but until the scan it's very difficult for me to comment on what that knee injury is, because we don't know."
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