25 December 2023 , 19:30
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Newcastle boss Eddie Howe insists he is not blaming tiredness for his team's recent poor performances.
Despite a strong home record, with seven wins at St James' Park, Newcastle are still recovering from a 1-0 defeat to relegation battlers Luton, which leaves them in seventh place, seven points behind fourth-place Tottenham.
Newcastle have had to juggle a raft of injury problems, couple with the added demands of Champions League football and a run to the Carabao Cup quarter-finals, but Howe refused to suggest that his players could be exhausted from their intense workload. "No, I don't think we can say they're running on empty.," he said. "This game is unforgiving and no one is going to help us. We can only help ourselves."
Central defender Fabian Schar was back from a muscle injury at Luton, and striker Alexander Isak played after getting over a groin issue. But captain Jamaal Lascelles might miss Tuesday's match against Nottingham Forest, as might Nick Pope, Matt Targett, Javier Manquillo, Joelinton, Joe Willock, Elliot Anderson, Jacob Murphy, and Harvey Barnes.
Eddie Howe, who took over a struggling Newcastle team in November 2021, is staying positive as he tries to improve things. "When we first came to the club, that was an incredibly difficult time for us where we were battling relegation," he said.
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"Now we're in a slightly different moment where we've just had such an intense period of games with a very, very small squad and that small squad has done incredibly well to this point, but we're certainly aware that we need consistent results and that's what we're striving for.
Howe is getting ready to face Nottingham Forest's new manager Nuno Espirito Santo on Boxing Day. Nuno's first game in charge ended in a tight 3-2 loss to Bournemouth. He has faced Newcastle seven times before with Wolves and Tottenham, winning twice and drawing five times.
Howe stated: "Whenever you play a team that's changed manager, that's always an interesting dynamic because of the potential changes tactically, so we're going to have to be well prepared for the match."
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