Eddie Howe: Recent form against Manchester United counts for nothing

HOWE TIMES HAVE CHANGED: Eddie Howe has warned his Newcastle players their recent dominance over Manchester United will count for nothing at Old Trafford on St Stephen's Day. Pic: Owen Humphreys/PA Wire.

Eddie Howe has warned his Newcastle players their recent dominance over Manchester United will count for nothing at Old Trafford on St Stephen's Day.

The Magpies head over the Pennines having won five of their last six games in all competitions against United and four of the last five Premier League encounters since they went down 2-0 to the Red Devils in the 2023 Carabao Cup final.

However, asked if that disappointment at Wembley had proved something of a watershed for his team, Howe said: "I don't know.

"That was a painful moment, but I think you just go against every opponent in an honest way. My process is to see the strengths and weaknesses of the team that we're playing against.

"You don't particularly look at the name or who you're playing as such, you just attack the game, then try to highlight those weaknesses and try to protect yours, so it doesn't really change, the process is the same.

"Our record has been good against Manchester United in recent games, but that counts for nothing in this game.

"It will be another independent game and as I say, they've improved, they've been really strong in the games - even the game at Aston Villa, where they didn't win in their last match, I thought they were really strong and produced a good performance."

Newcastle finished 10 places and 24 points ahead of Manchester United last season, but will run out on Friday trailing the hosts by three points having allowed two to slip from their grasp in Saturday's 2-2 home draw with Chelsea.

Record signing Nick Woltemade scored both goals in an impressive first-half display to win him admirers both on and off the pitch.

Asked about the striker's connection with the fans, Howe said: "You can see that when he scores, he's got a really good connection. You can see the crowd are really happy for him and he's happy to embrace the celebrations with the crowd.

"I thought it was his best performance for the team on Saturday. I thought he played really well, especially in the first half.

"You saw his qualities returning for the team, really, in the sense that his linking play... he was dropping slightly lower on the pitch, he helped us build the ball through the thirds of the pitch, but most importantly when the ball arrived in the box, he was there.

"The second goal in particular is an unbelievable finish and he'll probably be frustrated because the easier one just on half-time that he didn't convert would have been a great moment for him.

"But overall, it was a really strong performance. He helped the team athletically as well, so I was really happy with him."