Howe responds to cheeky Klopp dig at Newcastle assistant Jason Tindall

18 August 2023 , 13:10

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Klopp and Howe on the touchline last season (Image: Getty Images)

Eddie Howe has responded to Jurgen Klopp after the Liverpool boss poked fun at how a Premier League rule change will impact Newcastle this season.

A number of new rules have been implemented, including one that now means only one coach is allowed to stand in the technical area at a time. Howe's assistant Jason Tindall went viral last season for his touchline antics, with the pair regularly standing side-by-side in the technical area.

When quizzed on the rule change, Klopp joked : "It's like that in the Champions League anyway. I think it's only a problem for one team: Newcastle. Sorry!"

Howe has now responded to Klopp's comments, agreeing with the German that the rule change will impact Newcastle because of the way he works with Tindall. He said: "I did hear about Jurgen's comments.

"I think the rules do impact us more than other teams because of how we work. This isn't a new thing for me and Jason, for as long as I have been in management, it is something we have done.

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"I didn't find it too bad last week. We dovetailed in and out of the area and I didn't notice a big change." Howe has previously called the rule change "strange" and admitted he and Tindall will "have to find a way around it".

Speaking before Newcastle's Premier League opener against Aston Villa last week, which they lost 5-1, he said: "It's strange that's been brought in this season. From our perspective, that's a blow… we've just worked naturally.

Howe and his assistant Jason Tindall regularly stood side-by-side in the technical area last season, but new rules mean that cannot happen this season (Stu Forster/Getty Images)

"There's been no big plan of ours at the start of our careers to work in the way that we do, it's just naturally evolved. We've always had that way of working. When the game's going on I want to help the players as much as I can and I hope to help rather than hinder them by being close to them and trying to be quite active and vocal.

"And naturally, he joins in. There are certain aspects of the game I ask him to concentrate on and he will then in that moment try to help the players too. Only one of us can do that, it's just something we'll have to navigate.

"I think you'll see quite a bit of rotation from us on the sidelines. I think he'll feel a natural tendency to want to get forward then be told he probably can't. We don't want to see him get sent off so we'll have to try and get him chained to the dugout!"

Matthew Cooper