MusaNewcastle United have lacked a bit of ‘leadership’ on the pitch in recent weeks is an aspect of their performances and results that has been ‘ignored’
That is certainly the view of Magpies head coach Eddie Howe, who feels the absence of the likes of Nick Pope, Dan Burn, Kieran Trippier and Sven Botman has been keenly felt.
All four players have suffered from injuries that kept them out of a number of matches in December which saw Newcastle stutter in the Premier League.
Pope returned to the starting XI in Tuesday’s 3-1 win at Burnley, though, and made a number of key saves in the second half as the hosts searched for an equaliser.
Trippier and Botman are close to a return while Newcastle are hopeful Burn could return before the end of the month, too.
With nine games to contend with this month across four competitions, that leadership is going to be key if Newcastle are to emerge from what Howe has described as a ‘season defining’ month with a positive outcome.
“I think the leadership aspect is probably one that gets ignored in terms of when those players are missing and what we miss,” Howe told Chronicle Live.
“If you look at Dan Burn, Sven [Botman], Kieran [Trippier], [Nick Pope], regardless of the individual names, there is a lot of experience that has been absent and I think you feel that.
“You feel that internally because the group has been a bit quieter, it has been a bit more youthful and I think you have seen the impact of that in some of the games when we have lost control or we have lost a late goal.
“If it is a set play sometimes you put it down to organisation, leadership, voice and all those things play a big part and all those things come down to experience.
“Everything they will bring will give us a massive lift and we are excited to have those players back.”
Newcastle kickstart their January with back-to-back home games against Crystal Palace and Leeds United and know successive home wins will change the complexion of their Premier League season.
They also face Manchester City in the first leg of the Carabao Cup semi-finals, as well as Bournemouth in the FA Cup third round.
United also face PSV Eindhoven and Paris Saint Germain in the Champions League knowing they are within touching distance of reaching the knockout stages of the competition for the first time in their history.
Musa
