A week ago Eddie Howe called it the “biggest match in the club’s history”, and that was in Newcastle; this time it’s Barcelona, but Howe has insisted his players will not be overawed when they walk out at Camp Nou for the second leg of their Champions League last-16 second leg on Wednesday night.
“You can’t shrink at the size of the game, and I don’t think we will,” the Newcastle manager said. “We have got many players who have played in so many games now; we have become accustomed to it.”
Howe also said that, bolstered by their 1-0 victory against Chelsea on Sunday, his side are in “as good a place as any time this season”, and approach the second leg with confidence after it took a Lamine Yamal penalty in added time to deny them victory at St James’s Park in the initial encounter.
Asked if a victory would be the biggest of his career, Howe replied: “It probably would be, yeah, but it’s irrelevant because that’s the outcome and we’re in the preparatory phase. We have to make sure our game plan, tactical delivery and individual performances are at the right level. We have another massive, massive game at the weekend [against Sunderland], so I don’t want to heap too much pressure on the players. I just want them to try to execute the best performance they can.
“We have many, many internationals in the squad so I don’t see [shrinking] as an issue. We have enough players who can cause them problems. We’ll enjoy the game, but we’ll only truly enjoy it if we deliver. I think we’re in a good place to do that, and the players are probably as confident as they’ve been in any stage this season.
“Our recent performances have been really strong. The individuals are performing at a really high level – that hasn’t always been the case. We need everything to go our way tomorrow. We know how good Barcelona are, but we believe in ourselves.
“We will try to be ourselves. We need a bit of everything. A defensive mentality [like] against Chelsea: blocking shots, defending in numbers. But also a bit of what we do best: our running capacity, our athleticism. There has been a really good battle between their midfield and ours in both games. We are going to need to be very good in our duels. The battle in midfield will go a long way to deciding the game.”
Howe also backed Sandro Tonali after his agent suggested that the Italian would be looking for a move in the summer. “The person that matters most is Sandro,” the 48-year-old said. “All I have ever seen from him is someone who is totally committed, selfless. He is here for all the team not himself. He had a really difficult moment when he first joined and showed strength and character to get through. Forget the noise, he is fully committed.”
Kieran Trippier, meanwhile, said that he could never have imagined a moment like this when he joined Newcastle four years ago and said that if he does leave when his contract expires this summer he will go feeling satisfied. “I got criticised when I left Atlético [Madrid]; I got a lot of negativity for a lot of different reasons, but I had my reasons and this [game] justifies it a bit,” said the defender. “I have no regrets, I never have with any decision in football.
“I never thought we would play in the Champions League, to be honest, and now we have been here twice. There have been two cup finals. This is where we want to be. There have been many special moments. Ten thousand Geordies are coming out speaks volumes: they have backed us in the tough moments.”
