Howe hails ‘huge moment’ as Newcastle qualify for Champions League

Newcastle manager Eddie Howe hailed a “huge moment” for his side as they qualified for the Champions League despite losing at home to Everton on Sunday’s final day of the Premier League season. 

Charly Alcaraz’s 65th-minute header sealed a 1-0 win for the Toffees at St James’ Park.

But Chelsea’s win at Nottingham Forest and 10-man Aston Villa’s 2-0 defeat at Manchester United meant the Magpies finished in fifth place on goal difference.

It meant Newcastle just edged out Villa for a place among European football’s elite to cap a memorable season where Howe’s men ended the club’s 56-year trophy drought by winning the League Cup. 

“It feels great, the achievement is huge,” Howe told the BBC. “Naturally, when you lose the game there’s a feeling of disappointment but I think we have to override that with (the fact that) over the 38 games, we deserved to qualify for the competition. It’s a huge moment for the club.”

He added: “We can’t thank the players enough this year. We’ve got a great group who give their all in every game and that’s all we can ask for. Today, I think we did that. We tried to win the game (against Everton), but it wasn’t to be.”

Newcastle fans found themselves in the unusual position of willing Manchester United to win as the minutes ticked by with their own side unable to find an equaliser.

“We were getting updated but I didn’t want it to dominate my focus,” said Howe. “It was only when it looked like we were struggling to score in that second half and our result was in jeopardy that the other results became more important for us, but all the way through the game we were still trying to find a way to score and claw ourselves a way back into the game. 

“I think there was a point with about five minutes to go that it looked like, barring an amazing last five or 10 minutes, we were there.”