Eddie Howe's Newcastle wish against Spurs after what…

Eddie Howe's Newcastle wish against Spurs after what Antonio Conte said as mentality changes

Eddie Howe has set his Newcastle United side the challenge of giving Spurs a 'really tough game' on Sunday as the Magpies look to prove they are now a 'high-level opponent'.

Newcastle have certainly come a long way since a 5-1 hammering in the corresponding fixture last season and Howe's team have only suffered three defeats since then. Although this latest trip to the Tottenham Hotspur Stadium will test the limits of Newcastle's squad, following physical encounters against Manchester United and Everton, the sixth-placed visitors travel with no fear.

Spurs have won all of their home fixtures this season, of course, but Antonio Conte admitted his side struggle in 'high-level' games after their midweek defeat at Old Trafford. As tough as this assignment will be for Newcastle, this is another chance for the black-and-whites to prove they can mix it with one of the very best teams in the Premier League.

"We want to be a high-level opponent," Howe told reporters. "We want to give them a really tough game.

"We're capable of doing it if we're at our absolute best. The hard thing for us is it's our third game in a short period of time - as it is for Tottenham - and we need to make sure we are at our very best levels physically and mentally to have a chance of winning this game."

It is easy to forget that Newcastle took the lead at Spurs last April, but the visitors went on to concede five goals in the space of just 40 minutes after chasing the game too early. Lessons were clearly learned that day and Howe felt the experience ended up helping his side.

The players certainly believe they can now go to some of the biggest stadiums in the country and get something, as they did at Old Trafford last week, and Newcastle have proved a difficult side to beat this season. The Magpies have only lost once, at Liverpool, and no other team has conceded fewer goals (nine) or kept more clean sheets (five) in the top-flight this season.

Newcastle recorded their latest shutout in the 1-0 win against Everton on a night where the Toffees failed to even have a single shot on target. That was much-owed to the work rate, discipline and athleticism of Howe's side off the ball in all areas of the pitch.

Keeping another clean sheet meant a lot to goalkeeper Nick Pope and defenders Kieran Trippier, Fabian Schar, Sven Botman and Dan Burn, who celebrated in a huddle at full-time. Howe, as a former centre-back himself, was among those who took note of that 'lovely moment'.

"Speaking as a defender, I lived and breathed everything for a clean sheet," he added. "My mindset as a player going into a game was that was my job in the team: can I be part of that unit that keeps the ball out of the net?

"I do believe our defenders and team as a whole have the same mindset and it's really important that it's not just the goalkeeper and back four that feel that, but the team feel that, too. I think we do at the moment.

"We have got a very healthy attitude to defending. As I always say with these things, it's never finished, it's never final. We have another game around the corner. You have to earn that right all over again.

"Regardless of what you did in your last game and what you have done to any point during the season, I believe you start from zero. That's a really healthy thing to do. You reset and you know you're up against Harry Kane and the strength of the Tottenham team so this is going to be a really good test of our defensive structure, a really good test of our mentality. It's one of the toughest assignments we will have this season."

Eddie Howe's Newcastle wish against Spurs after what Antonio Conte said as mentality changes

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