Eddie Howe, the Newcastle boss, has expressed that he has “no issue” with winger Anthony Gordon after his reaction to being substituted in last Saturday’s win at Brentford. Howe replaced Jacob Murphy with Gordon at half-time before taking him off in stoppage time. Gordon reacted angrily and Howe has since had a conversation with him about the incident. He stated that they want to embrace his enthusiasm, aggression and motivation levels, but he needs to have a cool head in certain moments. Howe acknowledged that Gordon felt the need to apologise and accepted that he was overly emotional.
The win at Brentford followed up victories over West Ham and Manchester United during the previous week and kept Newcastle third in the Premier League, above Manchester United on goal difference. When asked if his side can qualify for the Champions League, Howe said that there is a growing belief that they are getting back to their best form after a difficult period in January. He believes that the Wolves win in March was a big moment for them and they have backed it up with three tough games over the last week. Howe concluded that nothing is decided yet and they have it all to prove in the last set of games this season.