HOWE SETS PHASE TO STUN

Toon boldly go for Europe after Eddie crosses the final frontier

- IAN MURTAGH

EDDIE HOWE has declared “phase one” of his Newcastle project over following the club’s Carabao Cup defeat against Manchester United.

And now comes the tough bit! The Toon chief has guided the

Magpies into the Premier League’s upper echelons just months after they were fighting relegation.

Newcastle will discover today just how hard it is going to be in their bid to join the elite when they face reigning champions Manchester City.

They head for the Etihad this lunchtime out of form and still reeling from the club’s latest Wembley loss.

But Howe insists self-pity will not be an issue in their remaining 15 games, with the Geordies firmly focused on European qualification.

“I probably felt a bit of closure after the game,” he said, recalling

the United setback. “The end of phase one is perhaps a nice way of putting it. “The cup adventure is over and we need to get back to the Premier League and playing how we were a few weeks ago.” Howe concedes the build-up to last Sunday’s showpiece did prove an inevitable distraction, with Tyneside gripped by cup fever for weeks.