Eddie Howe has revealed that the returning Chris Wood had a 'really good moment with the group' after Newcastle United reached their first League Cup final in 47 years.
Wood and Jonjo Shelvey were back at St James' Park on Tuesday night to not only support Newcastle in the Magpies' semi-final second-leg against Southampton but, also, to catch up with players and staff for the first time since their respective moves to Nottingham Forest. Although Wood has only joined Forest on loan, initially, Steve Cooper's side have an obligation to make the move permanent in the summer.
Wood may not have been a regular starter for Newcastle this season, but the 30-year-old was a valued member of the dressing room and his departure was keenly felt. Dan Burn said he was 'really gutted' to see Wood leave while Sean Longstaff told NUFC TV that the dressing room was 'a bit down' following the New Zealand international's exit.
READ MORE: Everything Eddie Howe said on West Ham, Carabao Cup final and injuries at Newcastle press conference
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Howe did not want to lose Wood, but respected the player's wishes to go and the Newcastle head coach will certainly never forget the role the target man and Shelvey played in helping to keep his side in the Premier League last season.
"It was great to see Chris," Howe told reporters. "I saw him at length after the game. He came into my office, which was a really nice moment to share with him, because I had not seen him since he left.
"I spoke with him, obviously. I think he went into the changing room to see the players and both him and Jonjo had a really good moment with the group. It just goes to show how popular they were, how integral they were to the squad and how much they are going to be missed by everybody."
Fabian Schar told ChronicleLive that the 'whole team' was going to miss Wood and Shelvey after the Newcastle defender caught up with the pair on Tuesday night. Shelvey actually had the opportunity to address his team-mates one last time following the win against Southampton and Schar said it was an 'emotional' moment as the midfielder spoke from the heart about his seven years at the club and thanked everyone in the dressing room.
It felt like a changing of the guard on a night new signings Anthony Gordon and Harrison Ashby were presented to the crowd before kick-off. The pair were certainly given a warm welcome by supporters and Gordon even had his name sung by the Gallowgate End, which felt like a sign of things to come.
"He will thrive in this environment here with the positivity and the brilliant response," Howe said. "I didn't hear it - I was busy doing my team talk - but I heard about the brilliant reception our supporters gave him and he's going to need that after a difficult last few months for him. For him to feel good again, a release of pressure will be really positive for us."
Gordon could make his Newcastle debut against West Ham at St James' on Saturday while Ashby will also be available to face his former side if required from the bench. Wembley may be on the horizon, but this is the first of three crucial Premier League games for Newcastle before that huge cup final against Manchester United.
"It's not a difficult task for me to stay focused on the next game because that's the world that I live in," Howe added. "But for the players who live the emotions maybe more than I do - the actual ups and downs of the actual game itself - we have to come crashing back now and focus our preparation for another tough game.
"It's the type of tough game that if we do drop our focus in whatever way that manifests itself...it could be a set-play and it's the details that win football matches. We need to make sure that we are concentrating on those details at all times."
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