Eddie Howe urges Newcastle to show Barcelona they are Champions League contenders

Hansi Flick has also talked up Marcus Rashford’s qualities.

Newcastle United manager Eddie Howe during a training session. Pic: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.

It is only two years since Eddie Howe attended his first Champions League match but now Newcastle’s manager is on a mission to disrupt Europe’s elite.

As Barcelona arrived on Tyneside on Wednesday Hansi Flick’s La Liga champions certainly displayed no sign of complacency. Indeed Flick warned of the “intensity” his players must be braced for at St James’ Park on Thursday night.