Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe will give his players a well-earned break at the beginning of the international break ahead of a 'key spell' before the winter World Cup. The Magpies laboured to a 1-1 draw with Bournemouth at St James' Park on Saturday as they struggled to break down Gary O'Neil's side.
With key personnel missing and the attack failing to gel, the draw leaves Newcastle with just one win from their opening seven Premier League games. The next top flight tie for Eddie Howe's side comes on October 1 against Fulham and the boss plans to allow his players some time off to recharge before returning to the training pitch to try and fix the current slump.
"We'll give them a little bit of time at the beginning of next week," Howe said. "To go away and regroup mentality because we know we have a busy period coming when we return. It's going to be a key spell before the World Cup, these next group of games.
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"We've conceded a poor goal by our high standards today. We were very good defensively and didn't give them a lot so it's disappointing for them to score.
"Naturally, we've worked hard on our attacking play in the build up to this game. It was no surprise what we faced, we knew what was coming but we still didn't do it well enough. So there's a lot of work to do."
Howe will be hopeful to have key men back for the trip to Fulham with Callum Wilson and Allan Saint-Maximin missing out on Saturday. Elliot Anderson was also a notable absentee.
“Callum’s doing very well, we’re really pleased with his progress. He was close for today, but I think we made an early decision that it would have been too big a risk. So, we hope that with a bit more time, there’s a chance that the next game could be good for him."
“With Allan, it’s slightly different. He’s had a very minor setback with the physios, so whether or not he’ll be fit after the international break is slightly unclear. It’s certainly not long term, but it’s not clear whether he’ll be fit for our next game yet.”
