Newcastle boss Eddie Howe treating Barcelona crunch clash as just ‘another game’ | OneFootball

Newcastle boss Eddie Howe is refusing to get carried away by the romance of the Champions League as he attempts to dump five-time winners Barcelona out of the competition.

The Magpies will run out at the Nou Camp on Wednesday evening counting themselves unfortunate not to be doing so with a 1-0 first-leg lead after Lamine Yamal's stoppage-time penalty cancelled out Harvey Barnes' opener at St James' Park last Tuesday night.

It is a scenario 48-year-old head coach Howe could not have envisaged when he took over a club sitting in 19th place in the Premier League table in November 2021, but he will not allow the magnitude of the game to get to him.

Asked if it is the sort of tie he had dreamt about, Howe said: "Yes, it probably will be, but it's not something I've genuinely given any time to because it's another game. The process that you go through before each game is the same, regardless of where you are playing, regardless of the size of the competition.

"We try to do the same things. We try to treat every game as if it's a Champions League final, without using cliches. We do the work in the same way.

"We will enjoy the game when it comes, but we will only truly enjoy it if we deliver what we know we need to deliver. I think we're in a good place to do that.

"The players are probably as confident as they've been at any stage this season. Our recent performances have been really strong.

"We need everything to go our way tomorrow and we know how good Barcelona really are and we don't underestimate the size of the task and we believe in ourselves at the same time."

open image in gallery

Harvey Barnes scored the opener against Barcelona in the first leg (Getty)

Howe dubbed the first leg the biggest game in Newcastle's recent history and got a performance from his players which very nearly justified the billing.

Victory at the Nou Camp and a place in the last eight would represent a significant step on their journey, but again Howe was keeping his feet firmly on the ground.

Asked if a win would be the biggest of his managerial career, he replied: "Yes, it probably would, but it's irrelevant, really, thinking about it, talking about it because that's the outcome. At the moment, we're still very much in the preparation phase."

open image in gallery

Eddie Howe is not getting carried away with the romance of the Champions League (AFP via Getty Images)

For 35-year-old former Atletico Madrid defender Kieran Trippier, who declined to discuss his future in any detail with his contract up at the end of the season, the chance to fight Barca for a place in the quarter-finals is one he admits would not have been on the agenda when he arrived on Tyneside in January 2022.

He said: "When you're 19th in the league and only have one win, I don't think anybody expected us to be here.

"We have earned the right to be here, but I think it's key and crucial that we maintain the standards we have shown throughout the years to be in this position.

"This is where we want to be. This is where the football club needs to be, in Europe."