Eddie Howe has called for focus from Newcastle ahead of a ‘pivotal’ clash with Borussia Dortmund in the Champions League.
Newcastle have made a strong start to their first Champions League campaign since 2002/03 and are top of Group F ahead of Wednesday’s fixtures.
The Magpies thrashed Paris Saint-Germain 4-1 in a statement performance last time out and Howe has called on the Newcastle fans to recreate a similar atmosphere as Dortmund visit St James’ Park this week.
“We’ve been preparing and planning for this game since our last one. It’s a tough game indeed. I think the beauty of the PSG game, looking back, was the whole environment created by the supporters,” Howe said at his pre-match press conference.
“I think we need to forget the PSG result. Take the confidence from it, but forget it and try and create that atmosphere all over again and, for us, try to recreate those energy and intensity levels and quality of our play to try to win the game.”
Dortmund are without a win or goal after two games in this season’s Champions League campaign, but arrive in the north east with an unbeaten record in the Bundesliga this season. Howe is predicting another ‘top test’ against the German outfit, in what he has called a ‘pivotal’ game in Newcastle’s bid to reach the knockout rounds.
“It’s another real top test. This group was always going to be that way, going from AC Milan to PSG to Dortmund. It’s great to be involved in but as we said at the start of the group, we knew this would be be a really tough examination for us, this is a key period in it now.
“We’ve made a good start but we can’t get ahead of ourselves. We have to focus on what’s ahead of us and this is a pivotal game in the group.”
