Chronicle Live

Hello and welcome to our live coverage of Eddie Howe's pre-match press conference ahead of Newcastle United's Premier League home tie against Tottenham Hotspur.

The Magpies host Spurs after a fantastic win over Everton on Saturday. They will be looking to make it three league wins on the spin and Howe will speak to the media on Monday morning ahead of the game.

The Newcastle boss will be quizzed about a number of selection issues he may have, including whether Yoane Wissa will make his long-awaited first appearance in the squad. The £55million signing has yet to feature through a knee injury after his deadline day move from Brentford.

Howe will also be asked about rotation, with a hectic schedule ahead of them, having left out Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Jacob Murphy and Fabian Schar on Saturday. The likes of Anthony Elanga, Dan Burn and Lewis Miley all performed superbly and will be keen to keep their shirts.

Follow the live blog below for all of the build-up, updates and reaction with updates from Howe embargoed until 9:30am.

Key Events

Signing off11:55

Signing off

Thanks for joining us today.

Here are the key lines to emerge from the presser.

Howe on the goalkeeper decision being taken out of his hands

It doesn't feel like that when you're me. I'm just making a decision like I do every week. Of course, every decision is a big decision, and that's how I look at it. I don't look at it as any one decisionis bigger than the other. So, this dramatic showdown of decisions, that's not the reality. I was disappointed for Nick that he picked up the injury when he did, and disappointed for us,because we need him.

Have transfer discussions started ahead of January?

"Thank you for bringing that back up. That's lovely. No, we haven't had discussions yet, but we will and we will very soon because we need to be across everything that's going to happen in January. We never quite know what the month will look like. You can have a vision of it being quiet or the opposite, and the reality can be very different. So we need to be across it. We need to be prepared for all eventualities."

Yoane Wissa's 'secret debut'

Yoane Wissa has finally made his debut for Newcastle United - albeit behind closed doors in a private friendly behind the scenes.

The £55m man now is set for another runout this week. It could be another in-house training game although the U21s have a game at Scunthorpe on Tuesday night which could provide another option.

Full story here

Howe on whether his Newcastle are 'back'

The last two league performances have been us. I am reluctant to say we are back but I think we are moving in the right direction.

Howe on Anthony Elanga's impact on Saturday

The first transition of the game right from kick off was him running the full length of the pitch. It is a big change for any player but it was a big step forward in terms of getting used to the demands of being a Newcastle player.

Howe on Malick Thiaw's set-piece threat

It is an interesting one with Malick because he has got his head on our set plays quite a bit but hadn't put the finishing touches to it in the way he did it on Saturday. The importance of set play goals wins or loses you games.

Howe on his birthday celebrations after Saturday's win

Joelinton tried to get a chant going but it fell away. Nobody else joined him but I thank him for the effort. I got home about 11 o'clock on Saturday night and I was straight to bed.

Howe on Nick Woltemade's goal on Saturday

That was one of my favourite goals of his so far. I think the finish was on but very few players could execute it in the manner he does.

Howe on the importance of rotation

We said all along this year that it is very much going to be a squad effort that gets us through this season. We have tried to manage the squad effectively through the last games and we get a lot of information from the sports science team. After West Ham and Brentford we had to pick a team who was physically ready to execute the game and that is what I will be looking for going forward. When we are very good in that respect, we are very difficult to play against. With the game schedule we have, fresh players on the pitch are one thing but physically the players are going to have to dig deep this season.

Howe on Aaron Ramsdale's reaction to first league start

I didn't really see him to be honest but I am sure he felt good. I'm sure he felt good returning back to Newcastle after the game. He can be very pleased, it's a really good start from him and I'm sure he's in a really good place.

Howe on the congested league table

We always felt during some difficult runs that the league is very tight and a consistent run of victories can propel you up the league. A couple of wins and we are back to where we want to be so it is a really key time because we can't become detached. We really need a run of games where we get positive results.

Howe on what Newcastle can use from Spurs cup win

That was a tough game and this one will be no different. They have a few players back from that game and they have a strong squad and a very good manager.

Howe on Nick Pope's injury

No further update from Saturday. Again, he is one of a number of players we will analyse earlier this week and get a proper diagnosis.

Howe delivers Botman update

No fresh injuries, we'll have a good look at the lads today. Sven is going to see a specialist in the next couple of days to get a definitive opinion on whether he needs an injection or rest for a few days and go from there.

Howe delivers positive Yoane Wissa update

He participated in a 11 v 11 training game while we were at Everton. He will have another one this week and we will see how he is.

Updates from Howe in five minutes

Stick with us for updates.

In place

We are in place for Eddie Howe's press conference. We will have updates from the NUFC boss from 9:30am.

In place

Eddie Howe will be with us in a couple of minutes

Key questions on the agenda

Key items to ask Howe about today include . . .

Injury update - Wissa and Botman are the main ones, along with Nick Pope

Home form - two big games at St James' Park this week

Lewis Miley - has the midfielder done enough to keep his place?

German efficiency - how good have Woltemade and Thiaw been this season?

Packed schedule - potentially more rotation as the games come thick and fast

Elanga revival - the winger had his best game in a NUFC shirt on Saturday

The time we will hear from Eddie

The Newcastle boss will sit down with the media at 9am, with his first batch of updates embargoed until 9.30am.

'Rare' chance for Newacstle

Eddie Howe has told Chronicle Live that his side have a rare opportunity to build some momentum with successive home games against Spurs and then Burnley at the weekend.

"The two home games we have now are huge. It is rare you have a midweek Premier League game but obviously we have been used to that in Europe.

On the agenda

The Newcastle boss will be quizzed about a number of selection issues he may have, including whether Yoane Wissa will make his long-awaited first appearance in the squad. The £55million signing has yet to feature through a knee injury after his deadline day move from Brentford.

Howe will also be asked about rotation, with a hectic schedule ahead of them, having left out Sandro Tonali, Anthony Gordon, Jacob Murphy and Fabian Schar on Saturday. The likes of Anthony Elanga, Dan Burn and Lewis Miley all performed superbly and will be keen to keep their shirts.

Welcome

Good morning and welcome to our live coverage of Eddie Howe's media conference. The Newcastle manager will be speaking to the press to preview tomorrow night's Premier League game against Tottenham Hotspur.

Stick with us for all the latest news and analysis.

Tottenham Hotspur stand in Newcastle way next

At long last they stood before their supporters on a Premier League ground as victors instead of victims. Those carrying the Geordie flag could smile with bursting pride instead of trying to hide their embarrassment at the end of an hour and a half of examination.

The relief was palpable. Eddie Howe and his Newcastle United troops were PL away winners for the very first time this season on their seventh attempt. Lucky for us!

It was the perfect birthday present for Eddie, 48 this very day, perhaps appropriately at Everton whom he supported as a youngster when his hero was Peter Beardsley, now a neighbour on Tyneside.

After the cold chill of an Arctic winter this was the warmest of feelings, back to back PL victories following the defeat of Manchester City. And it wasn't a scratchy single-goal win but a 4-1 slaughtering.

We now return to home comforts with Spurs on Tuesday night and Burnley on Saturday next up. A glorious opportunity to climb the slippery slope.

Tottenham arrive in not too many hours time trying to turn history - they suffered their first away defeat of the season in the Carabao Cup late October by 2-0 which was their fourth successive loss at St James Park. More of the same please.

They travel having just lost 2-1 at home to Fulham which will have done little to lighten the mood. A shocking record under Thomas Frank shows they have won just three of their past 13 matches in all competitions.

United got off to a flyer on Merseyside and milestones came at the double. Malick Thiaw's first goal in black and white was timed at 52 seconds, the fastest anywhere this season, and Lewis Miley's second before the half hour mark made him at 19 years and 212 days the second youngster Newcastle player to score and assist after Charles N'Zogbia in September 2005.

United were in dreamland by half-time as Nick Woltemade ended a relatively barren time of late with a delicious chip over our normal Geordie-baiter Jordan Pickford who must have had more fun suffering from raging toothache. Thiaw rounded it all off with his second and our fourth burying another textbook header.

The Mags had thrown away a lead in their last three matches on rival soil but it was never going to happen here even if Kieran Dewsbury-Hall prevented a clean sheet for Aaron Ramsdale.

There were quality performances all across the park . . . Thiaw as normal but this time with two goals as his medals, fellow German Woltemade back to his best as a cheeky chappie, Miley proving what a teenage prospect he is, and Dan Burn how reliable he is when played in his preferred position.

We've been craving a confidence booster for Anthony Elanga and sure enough his display upon recall brought encouragement. When he set up Woltenmade through persistence and vision to find him in acres of space he produced with an assist something Anthony Gordon hadn't managed in his last 19 PL outings.

That United won their first away league fixture without regulars Tonali, Gordon, and Pope plus other big hitters like Trippier, Botman, and Schar was ironic but a tribute to those on Howe's team sheet.

Miley had big boots to fill replacing Tonali but he is a cool young man comfortable in his natural ability which shone through despite two Brazilian internationals sharing the midfield third with him.

Think of him alongside the full-back class of Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall - three kids in terms of age and experience - and United look well served for the foreseeable future.

FOOTNOTE: Former Newcastle and Carlisle midfielder Les O'Neill has passed away aged 81.

Les played for his local club New Harley Juniors before graduating to United where he was a valued member of their FA Youth Cup winning team of 1962 alongside the likes of Bob Moncur and David Craig. However he made only one first team appearance at Portsmouth the following year.

He was best known for being part of the Carlisle team that made the fairytale rise into the old First Division in 1974 famously scoring in their opening day 2-0 win at Chelsea in front of the MOTD cameras.

O'Neill who also played for Darlington and Bradford City was later coach at Swindon under Glenn Hoddle.

The fixtures are coming thick and fast, and Newcastle United have the opportunity to climb the Premier League

Newcastle United have climbed to 11th in the Premier League following a 4-1 win over Everton. Malick Thiaw fired the Magpies to victory against David Moyes' side at the Hill Dickinson Stadium on Saturday night with two brilliant headers.

The 24-year-old defender, whom Newcastle signed from AC Milan for about £34m in the summer, broke the deadlock inside the opening minute. Lewis Miley doubled the Magpies' lead midway through the first half before Nick Woltemade etched his name onto the scoresheet.

Thiaw put the fourth and final nail in the coffin on the hour mark, netting another header. Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall pulled one back for Everton in the 70th minute, but Newcastle held the Toffees at bay.

While Eddie Howe's side are in the bottom half of the table, just four points separates them from Sunderland in fourth. So, with that being said, ChronicleLive has looked at Newcastle's upcoming fixtures and how they compare to their rivals.

Tottenham Hotspur (H) – Premier League – Tuesday, December 2

Newcastle cruised past Thomas Frank's side in the Carabao Cup at the end of last month. Tottenham haven't looked the same since, so Howe will be looking to pile on the misery.

Burnley (H) – Premier League – Saturday, December 6

Burnley have lost each of their last four games in the Premier League. The likes of Manchester United, Manchester City, Arsenal, Chelsea, and Liverpool have already played and beaten Scott Parker's side this season, so Newcastle will be expected to follow suit.

Bayer Leverkusen (A) – UEFA Champions League – Wednesday, December 10

After back-to-back home games, Newcastle are on the road again. The Magpies have enjoyed a promising start to the Champions League campaign, and they're only a couple of points adrift of the top eight, which grants automatic qualification to the last 16.

Sunderland (A) – Premier League – Sunday, December 14

The Tyne–Wear derby. Newcastle have the opportunity to lay down a marker over their rivals, who have had an excellent start to the season.

Fulham (H) – Carabao Cup – Wednesday, December 17

The Magpies will be eager to defend their title as Carabao Cup champions. Newcastle did the unthinkable last season, defeating Liverpool in the final at Wembley Stadium.

Meanwhile...

Manchester United's upcoming fixtures

Crystal Palace (A) – Premier League – Sunday, November 30

West Ham (H) – Premier League – Thursday, December 4

Wolves (A) – Premier League – Premier League – Monday, December 8

AFC Bournemouth (H) – Premier League – Monday, December 15

Aston Villa (A) – Premier League – Saturday, December 21

Tottenham Hotspur's upcoming fixtures

Newcastle United (A) – Premier League – Wednesday, December 3

Brentford (H) – Premier League – Saturday, December 6

Nottingham Forest (A) – Premier League – Sunday, December 14

Liverpool (H) – Premier League – Saturday, December 20

Take a look at 23 fantastic fan photos as Newcastle United beat Tottenham Hotspur 2-0 to reach the Carabao Cup quarter final. St James' Park was bouncing as NUFC were the better team on the night, getting through to the last eight of the competition.

A 24th minute header from veteran defender Fabian Schar got Newcastle off to the perfect start, with Spurs always chasing the game from that point onwards. It stayed 1-0 until early in the second half, when another headed effort in the 50th minute from new hero striker Nick Woltemade consigned the North London outfit to a defeat.

Given this competition brought NUFC their first trophy in 56 years, supporters will be keen for more success this year, and with only two matches to go until another potential final, that does feel like a distinct possibility for Eddie Howe's men.

Next up in the Carabao Cup is Fulham, with Toon fans surely grateful about another home tie in the quarter finals, with that game set to be played in mid December. Before that, Newcastle will visit West Ham in the Premier League on Sunday, before coming back up north to face Athletic Club Bilbao in the Champions League on Wednesday.

There was one combination that proved really effective in Newcastle's win against Tottenham

Aaron Ramsdale has earned rave reviews for his performance in Newcastle United's 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur and rightly so.

The England international goalkeeper has had to remain patient for another chance between the posts given the form of Nick Pope so far this season but he used the Carabao Cup clash as an opportunity to showcase his talents.

Ramsdale made an outstanding save from Pape Mate Sarr's goalbound effort in the second half and was a commanding presence throughout the game on Wednesday evening.

But it was perhaps his distribution with his feet, a known weakness of Pope's, that stood out the most. In the first half, he played a precise pass into Sandro Tonali that started a dangerous attack and he looked very comfortable with the ball at his feet.

And that precision allowed Newcastle to explore a new tactic while Dan Burn continues to play as a left-back.

Burn was positioning himself way inside the Spurs half every time Ramsdale got the ball and and on three occasions, the Magpies goalkeeper sprayed a long diagonal pass into Burn's vicinity.

Each time, Burn used his six foot seven inch frame to win a header and flick the ball on to a dangerous area. It was direct but it was effective and while it didn't lead to a goal, it caused panic in the Spurs backline.

It was something Eddie Howe was quick to praise after the game, too, as he said: "I was really, really pleased with the big save he made in the second half. I thought that was an outstanding reflex save and showed his agility and his power. He distributed the ball really well, I think that's one of his big strengths."

Howe and his staff have worked meticulously on the training ground with Ramsdale, ensuring that when his chance did arrive to play in the team, he was used to working with the players.

Speaking in the matchday programme ahead of the Spurs win, Ramsdale said: "The great thing is with the manager, you get so many opportunities in training work with different pairs, duos of centre-backs and full-backs, I know in certain situations of a game if I'm given a chance or get thrown in due to something happening in a game, I know exactly what people are tending to do.

"They understand me too and I'm chomping at the bit, doing everything I can to get ahead of Nick and it is really healthy. I'm taking a small amount of pride in how Nick is playing."

While Tino Livramento and Lewis Hall remain out through injury, Burn will continue to deputise at left-back and it will be interesting to see if Pope is able to deploy the same tactic against West Ham.

Pope is an excellent goalkeeper but isn't as comfortable with the ball at his feet as Ramsdale is. Whether he could deliver the same service with the same level of accuracy remains to be seen but if it worked against Spurs, it should work against West Ham.

The Hammers have been dreadful at defending set pieces this season and Burn's aerial threat could be a key weapon at the London Stadium.

Pope will likely be recalled to the side for the trip to East London. Whether he can replicate Ramsdale's distribution towards Burn remains to be seen.

Newcastle United's Carabao Cup win over Spurs threw up a couple of controversial moments

Tottenham Hotspur were left unhappy with referee Chris Kavanagh after they were dumped out of the Carabao Cup by Newcastle United on Wednesday night.

The Magpies eased to a 2-0 victory thanks to goals from Fabian Schar and Nick Woltemade in each half. That set up a quarter-final clash with Fulham on December 16/17.

Schar's goal, in particular, had a whiff of controversy about it with Spurs players livid with the ref after he at first delayed the taking of a corner kick to allow defender Djed Spence to put his boot back on and tie his laces, only to then not give the player time to get back into position once he had finished.

Sandro Tonali swung over the kick which was headed home by Schar - ironically, the player Spence was due to be marking.

Spurs players, led by Richarlison, surrounded Kavanagh and boss Thomas Frank admitted after the game that he was extremely unhappy about the action.

"Yeah, I think that was clear," Frank said. "I think for me, we conceded two goals because of two mistakes, in my opinion.

"Unfortunately, the ref was part of the mistake in the first one. I'm not saying there's things we can't do better, but his boot is off, we need to tie his shoelace and tie his boot. And you can clearly see on the footage afterwards that the whole boot is off, so we need to do it.

"And it's minute 23, it's not like we delayed the game for 10 minutes and we have one goal up. It's common sense to allow him time to get in.

"So as soon as he had the boot on, the ref let it go. And then, to make it perfect, Djed's man he had to mark was Schar, that scored. So that's why we were very animated. I think that was the biggest one. I think the rest was fine.

"There's always small bits you can be irritated about, but it's very difficult to ref a game. But this, for me, was unfortunately a big mistake. And then we made a mistake ourselves on the second one. So small margins decided the game today."

Former Newcastle and Spurs striker Les Ferdinand, however, disagreed with Frank and the Tottenham players, insisting they should have been smarter in that instance.

He told ITV Sport: "You can see [Pedro] Porro’s got his hand in the air to try and get the referee’s attention. Go and stand on the ball and walk back from it slowly.

"The referee might come over to you and say, ‘Get away from the ball’. Walk away slowly.

"You can’t do that [what Spence did] and expect the referee to stop and say, ‘No, he’s putting his boot back on."

Late in the game, there was an almighty scuffle after Joelinton's lunge on winger Mohammed Kudus prompted an angry reaction from the Ghana star. A bust-up ensured with Xavi Simons and Dan Burn getting involved, while Aaron Ramsdale raced from his goal to calm down proceedings.

Joelinton and Kudus were both shown yellow cards - the Brazilian for his tackle and Kudus for his reaction. Former Premier League ref Mark Clattenburg claimed that it was 'unfair' that Kudus was also booked, ignoring the fact that the player had reacted aggressively in shoving Joelinton in the chest.

Clattenburg told TBR Football: “It does not feel fair that Joelinton, for his challenge, was given the same punishment as Mohammed Kudus. Joelinton’s challenge was certainly reckless and was a scissor action which tripped his opponent.

“To meet the criteria of a red card, however, there needs to be some force and malice used which this challenge lacked and therefore did not endanger the safety of his opponent. Nevertheless, it does not feel right that Kudos received the same punishment after being on the end of that tackle.”

The Brazilian enforcer reminded Tottenham stars exactly where they were in the closing stages to finish off the visitors in the Carabao Cup

Sandro Tonali has made it clear that Nick Woltemade's contributions to the Newcastle United cause go way beyond scoring goals.

The German international headed home to seal the 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur at St James' Park last night to book a Carabao Cup quarter-final date with Fulham. But Tonali, who put in a sparkling display to win man of the match against Spurs, feels that the £69m fee is already paying dividends in other ways apart from finding the back of the net.

Indeed, not only did Woltemade get back and help out defensively, he also chased down the Spurs rearguard and chased down everything to defend from the front in a way Alan Shearer would have been chuffed with.

After the game, Tonali said: "He is so big, it is a little bit easy for him to score with his head. But he is a very good player who ran the whole game.

"He played with us with the midfield and with the defenders. He is the first defender, and the first striker, and it is a pleasure to play with Nick. I am happy for him and happy for the team."

Joelinton's name cascaded from stands

Joelinton has never looked back from the moment that Eddie Howe used him as an emergency midfielder back in 2021 when Ciaran Clark was sent off against Norwich.

The tough-tackling No 7 was sent on for the final 19 minutes against Tottenham as Howe looked to shore the midfield up and see out the game. And just as Spurs dared to try to find a way back into the match, Joelinton steamed into a challenge on Mo Kudus before jumping back on his feet as the ex-Ajax man tried to get physical with him.

Xavi Simons then attempted to goad Joelinton, but he was pushed back into his place as support from Dan Burn and Malick Thiaw arrived as back up. Joelinton was booked for the challenge on Kudus with the Spurs man also cautioned.

As the situation settled down, Newcastle fans began chanting Joelinton's name as the enforcer helped take the sting out of the game at a crucial stage.

Joe Willock still has big part to play at Newcastle

Joe Willock looked like a man in need of some match practice as he felt his way through the early part of he match against Spurs. But he appeared to have found a second wind in the second half as he set up a goal for Nick Woltemade and almost netted himself.

After so many injury scares and setbacks, the ex-Arsenal midfielder just wants a run in the side to show his quality but it hasn't been easy for the former Gunners trainee. Reflecting on his performance last night, Howe, who has many midfield options, told Chronicle Live: "I'm really pleased for Joe.

"We all have very short memories in football. Everything happens so quickly, you forget sometimes how good players can be.

"Certainly not from our perspective. We know what a good player he is. When he's at his best. The biggest problem he's had really is his body in recent times, but today I thought he looked very, very good. He covered a lot of ground. He was excellent tactically.

"I played him in a slightly different way but he didn't let us down, he was very good.

"I'm delighted with the assist. He could have scored as well, but it's a good night and a reminder of how good he can be."

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Newcastle United brought Bruno Guimaraes on against Tottenham Hotspur for the final ten minutes plus stoppage time to ensure their progression to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals

Bruno Guimaraes applauded referee Chris Kavanagh for inadvertently stopping a Tottenham Hotspur counterattack against Newcastle United during the final minutes of their Carabao Cup fourth-round tie at St. James' Park.

Goals from Fabian Schar and Nick Woltemade had the hosts ahead approaching added time, but Spurs were still searching for a strike to halve the deficit. Randal Kolo Muani led their latest attack in the 89th minute, receiving the ball deep inside Tottenham's half from Djed Spence.

The forward played a one-two with Pape Matar Sarr, the first pass nutmegging Guimaraes, who was pressing to regain possession. Kolo Muani then dribbled into the space vacated by the Newcastle captain, beating Joelinton just past the halfway line.

However, the summer signing could not get past Kavanagh, with the ball clipping his heels, forcing the referee to blow his whistle and stop play. "Just as he was building up a head of steam, it flicked off the heels of Chris Kavanagh," Sky Sports commentator Bill Leslie said.

St. James' Park greeted the intervention with a hearty cheer, and Kavanagh held up his hands in response to the Tottenham players. "The referee apologetic, but nothing he really could have done about that," Leslie continued.

"Apart from get out the way," co-commentator Alan Smith jokingly interjected. The replay that they were speaking over showed Guimaraes, who was behind Kavanagh, with a wide grin on his face before the Brazilian then began applauding.

"Guimaraes enjoyed it," Smith remarked. The midfielder had not even been on the pitch 10 minutes by then, replacing Jacob Ramsey in the 80th minute.

He came on to see the game out and secure their spot in the quarter-final draw. Newcastle have another home tie in the next round, hosting Fulham in mid-December, against whom Guimaraes scored the winner on Saturday in the Premier League.

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Five things we learned from Newcastle's clinical Carabao Cup fourth round win over Tottenham at St James' Park

Newcastle United booked their place in a fourth successive Carabao Cup quarter-final with an impressive 2-0 win over Tottenham Hotspur.

Fabian Schar opened the scoring with a fine header in the first half, prompting a furious response from Spurs boss Thomas Frank on the touchline with Djed Spence out of position after tying his shoe lace.

Both teams created plenty of chances after that but it was Newcastle who found the second goal, with Nick Woltemade bagging his sixth goal for the club with a glancing header from Joe Willock's cross.

It means Newcastle can begin to dream of another Wembley final with a quarter-final at home to Fulham in December to look forward to.

Here are five things we learned from today's game.

Newcastle crowd taunts as Magpies could get last laugh

As Newcastle coasted towards the full-time whistle, the Toon Army couldn't help but get a dig in, not only towards Tottenham but to Liverpool, too.

Spurs brought a huge away following and, to their credit, they made plenty of noise in level seven to contribute to a cracking atmosphere under the St James' Park lights.

But as they started to flood out before full-time, the Gallowgate End launched into a brutal rendition of: "It's a long way to London when you're s***."

After the full-time whistle, the stadium PA took great joy in reading out Liverpool's scoreline after Arne Slot's side slumped to a 3-0 defeat at home to Crystal Palace.

It prompted a huge roar from the Newcastle fans, who had just watched their team win for a fifth time in their last six matches.

Howe gamble pays off

Eddie Howe warned before the game that he needed to get minutes in the legs of some players who perhaps haven't featured as much this season but insisted he retained full faith in his squad to continue the defence of their Carabao Cup title.

Howe made eight changes to his side with only Malick Thiaw, Dan Burn - who captained the side and Woltemade retaining their places in the starting XI who beat Fulham 2-1 on Saturday.

And it was a test they ultimately passed. A number of players rose to the challenge. Schar scored, Aaron Ramsdale was brilliant and we could continue naming others, too.

Howe has always wanted strong competition for places at Newcastle. Now he has it.

Addictive feeling breeds success

Jacob Murphy may not have played in the game but he set the tone with his pre-match comments in the matchday programme.

"The motivation in the squad is really high to win this competition again. We got a taste of it last year: it's addictive, that feeling of success," Murphy said of the importance of trying to retain the Carabao Cup.

"To be able to create those moments for the fans and also for us on our footballing journey, it's amazing to feel connected to something with a larger purpose.

"We want to do well in all cups but this one holds a special place for us because it's the first one we won as a group and the first one we've won in a long time."

That motivation was apparent in the performance as Newcastle hustled and harried their opponents and created a number of opportunities to win by more than the two-goal scoreline.

They are now just two more wins from a third League Cup final in four years and another shot at Wembley glory.

Frank superiority

Heading into the game, Howe had only lost once to a Thomas Frank side in nine matches, winning seven of them.

But that record was entirely made up of Newcastle's clashes against Brentford and this was a totally different test with Frank in the Spurs dugout after succeeding Ange Postecoglou in North London in the summer.

The teams may have changed but the outcome remained the same as Howe racked up another win against his highly rated rival. It was another feather in his cap against a top manager.

Endurance man's run continues

Dan Burn is Newcastle's most used player this season, missing just one match so far - the third round Carabao Cup win over Bradford.

Burn had played all 1080 minutes of the 12 matches he had started this season and that run continued with another 90 minutes under his belt in the win over Spurs.

It was perhaps his best performance at left-back, too, with him posing a big attacking threat both in the air and on the ball down Newcastle's left-hand side.

Whether he plays at centre-back or at left-back, he rarely lets Newcastle down. As the debate rages on over whether he gets in Newcastle's strongest team, Howe may have given us his answer by his continued dependence on the England international.

The Magpies sailed into the Carabao Cup quarter-finals with an impressive win over Spurs

Eddie Howe admits that there was always going to be to be "a doubt" over his team selection after making EIGHT changes to the team that beat Fulham at the weekend.

However, as Newcastle breezed past Tottenham Hotspur to set up a home tie with the Cottagers, nobody could argue that Howe had got his team right after an easy 2-0 win. The Magpies needed a goal in each half to do it as Fabian Schar and Nick Woltemade booked a place in the last eight.

Speaking after the home victory, Howe said: "It was really pleasing, it was a testament to the attitude of the players. We didn't have it all our own way but it was mainly very positive.

"I made a number of changes and there is always a slight doubt how that team will play together.

"But from minute one I thought we looked in a really good place.

"Athletically, I thought we were excellent, a lot of those players have not played regularly so that is testament to their professionalism and how they look after themselves between games and they got their rewards.

"I think when you make the changes we did you hope to see a performance that's in line with our identity and our expectations. I thought the pressing early on in the game and general attitude of the players was very good.

"I think with the way we work we like to think regardless of the changes we make they deliver a Newcastle performance in line with our expectations.

"It's most important that our attitude is right from minute one and the will to win that you need and we had. Individually, I thought there were some really good performances; collectively, we were strong."

Howe toasted the performance of Sandro Tonali after a midfield masterclass with the Italian helping Newcastle reach the latter stages of the competition they won last term.

Howe said: "Sandro Tonali was excellent he was full of energy. He was excellent both in and out of possession.

"It is very pleasing for Sandro, he's had a nasty illness. He has been very honest about initially saying he couldn't contribute to the team.

"Today was the right time to bring him in and I'm delighted."

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