Matt Ritchie still has a "huge" role to play for Newcastle United in the final 12 games of the season.
The former Scotland international scored a famous winning goal against the Red Devils earlier in his career on Tyneside back in 2018, and has come into the reckoning under Eddie Howe in recent games. Ritchie has came on as substitute in the last three matches and helped contribute to two Premier League victories against Wolves and Nottingham Forest.
When asked about how important Ritchie's role is, Howe told Chronicle Live: "Huge. Matt behind the scenes has been incredible this year. He's a big presence vocally - you can hear him wherever you are on the training ground or off it!
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"But he's got a great personality, he's really driven the group this year. He is one of our leaders. And when you consider he hasn't had as much football as he would have liked he has still driven the team in a positive way. I can't speak highly enough of him.
"But also he can still play. I have no doubt about that, he came on against Nottingham Forest and made an impact, and yeah he's got a big part to play for us."
Ritchie has been used in various positions down the years at Newcastle and going into a tough run of games and an intense schedule, Howe knows he may have to ask him to play in different roles. Howe joked that he hopes he doesn't have to ask him to drop back as deep as the defence, but knows he has it in him to carry out specific tasks.
Howe added: "I hope I don't have to ask him to play right-back! But yes he can. He is that type of infectious character. I can't speak highly enough of his contribution, even though he hasn't played the minutes he would have liked."
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