Eddie Howe slams Erik ten Hag’s ‘NONSENSE’ time-wasting claims as his Newcastle side leapfrog Man United into third place… with even the Toon’s Twitter account poking fun at their beaten top four rivals!
After Newcastle United overtook Manchester United in third place in the Premier League, Eddie Howe hit back at Erik ten Hag’s ‘nonsense’ time-wasting claims.
Joe Willock and Callum Wilson scored in a deserved 2-0 win at St James’ Park on Sunday, boosting Newcastle’s chances of qualifying for the Champions League.
It also provided some retaliation for Newcastle’s defeat by the same scoreline in the Carabao Cup final at Wembley Stadium in February.
Ten Hag had previously described Howe’s side as ‘annoying,’ accusing them of deliberately running the clock down during the teams’ goalless draw at Old Trafford in October.
Newcastle’s official Twitter account got in on the act as well, tweeting as the game ended, ‘no time-wasting required,’ before describing Allan Saint-Maximin as ‘annoying’ to play against.
‘I want to make one thing very clear – we want the ball in play,’ Howe said afterwards. We want a fast-paced game.
‘I’m not sure where this time-wasting nonsense came from, because it’s not us, and as you saw today, we wanted the ball back in play as soon as possible. ‘High energy and tempo.’
Howe and Ten Hag were involved in an angry exchange during the second-half as Newcastle tried to run down the clock with their goal advantage.
The Newcastle manager was telling Ten Hag that his team had tried to do the same thing at 0-0.
‘I’ll always stand up for my team,’ Howe added. That’s what I’ll always do: stand up for what I believe is right. If something is incorrect, I believe it is natural to want to convey the correct message.
‘However, we fully deserved to win. We demonstrated genuine faith. Today is a blueprint for how the team should play in almost every phase.’
Newcastle’s chances of finishing in the top four were boosted by the win, as they moved ahead of Manchester United on goal difference.
Tottenham can leapfrog them both and drop Ten Hag’s team to fifth place.
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