Eddie Howe may have had run-ins with the likes of Mikel Arteta and Jurgen Klopp in recent months but there is little chance of such clashes with Sheffield United boss Chris Wilder on Tyneside this weekend.
The Blades manager brings his struggling side to St James’ Park this weekend knowing they could be relegated to the Championship come full-time on Saturday. However, that hasn’t stopped Howe lauding both Wilder and his side, despite their dismal top flight showing this term.
“It’s not something we can focus on but it makes them a very difficult opponent,” Howe told reporters when asked about Sheffield United’s potential relegation on Friday. “Chris is an outstanding manger. I really enjoyed when Sheffield United got promoted to the Premier League. Their style of play and how he sets his team up.
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“He’s gone back in and his qualities are undoubted. We know it will be a difficult game. They have dangerous players but we back ourselves if we’re at our best.”
Wilder spoke to the media shortly after Howe and was equally as gracious with his praise of both the Newcastle United boss and his squad. There was also a lot of love for St James’ Park as Wilder takes his side to the north east venue for potentially the last time for a good few years.
“Nowhere better to go than up the road [to St James’ Park], in terms of the atmosphere, the vibrancy and all the emotion that gets attached to that game,” he told reporters.
“It (Newcastle United) is one of my favourite clubs, one of my favourite teams to watch. I have enormous admiration for Eddie’s career and how he has gone about it. They have had their ups and downs but they are still in the position that they are. They have got some fabulous players, an incredible environment, one we can really look forward to going to and hopefully leaving everything out there, like we did on Wednesday.”
Newcastle are looking to get their campaign back on track after a poor 2-0 defeat to Crystal Palace on Wednesday. The Magpies can retake sixth spot from Manchester United in the race for Europe if results go their way this weekend.
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