Carabao Cup win has to 'fuel' Magpies' run-in, says Howe | OneFootball

The Magpies return to league action just over a fortnight on from their trophy win at Wembley, with Brentford the opposition at St. James' Park on Wednesday night (kick-off 7:45pm BST).

Head coach Howe met the media in midweek for the first time since that win and just a four days on from the incredible bus parade and Town Moor celebrations that saw hundreds of thousands of United fans gather in the city to share some glorious moments - and you can find some of the best images of the day in these galleries.

Attention now turns to the visit of the Bees, though, and with the Magpies currently just three points shy of a place in the top four there is plenty for Howe's men to play for as the campaign enters its penultimate month - and Howe is keen for his charges to harness the feeling around the club and city and use it to propel themselves further up the table.

Here are some of the main talking points from Tuesday's pre-match media briefing, in which Howe also discussed the weekend's celebrations and Sven Botman's rehabilitation:

On the rest of the season...

"It has been a case of resetting and looking at our goals again in a different way. We need to put what happened against Liverpool to the back of our minds and now really focus on the final ten games.

"We've got ten great opportunities to grab and try to turn our Premier League season into a memorable one, as well as the cup final. Hopefully the lads are boosted and have renewed confidence."

On Saturday's Carabao Cup celebrations...

"It was an amazing day. I have such vivid memories of it.

"A massive thank you to everyone that turned up. It was cold, so for the supporters to wait like they did in those conditions was an incredible effort, so a big thank you."

On seeing the flag in his honour unfurled before the bus parade...

"It was totally unexpected. I didn't know it was there and didn't know it was coming. You're in a little bit of shock in that moment because it's never about one individual - it's never about me, it's always about the team. But there was a lot of thanks from me to the people that thought of that.

"To have that connection with the city and the supporters, to acknowledge that they know that I'm trying for them and giving my best in the job - that's a great thing to have."

On the fitness of Anthony Gordon, who picked up a knock while on international duty with England...

"He has some nasty bruising around his thigh but he's up and running and feeling quite good.

"He's not trained with the group yet, so we anticipate he'll do that within the next few days."

On defender Botman...

"Sven's not too bad. He's had a very minor operation just to clean out some floating bone that was in his knee and was causing him a problem.

"The initial diagnosis was between six and eight weeks but I think he's already got through a few of those. Fingers crossed we'll see him in May."

On building on their cup win at Wembley...

"The pain of losing the final (in 2023), although it was a big disappointment, fired us in the Premier League, so we used that pain.

"How we're going to respond to success is a different feeling, but we need the outcome to be similar. It needs to fuel us, it needs to help us, not hinder us.

"For those things to happen there's going to have to be a good reaction from the team, so that's our big test."