Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe reacts to Newcastle United winning their first trophy in 70 years and embracing their success
16/03/2025
Wembley Stadium, London, UK
16/03/2025
Wembley Stadium, London, UK
Category
🥇
SportsTranscript
00:00If you can smell a strange smell, that's me, drenched in whatever it is, so apologies for
00:25that.
00:26How do you feel?
00:31I feel amazing.
00:32I think it's an incredible day, really.
00:35I'm so, so pleased with our performance.
00:37I thought we were magnificent today, Keith.
00:39I think it was a lucky win from our perspective.
00:41Fully deserved.
00:42I thought the players were magnificent.
00:44You just walked into the room and said it was a funny smell.
00:48How did you get the sort of smell?
00:50Yeah, drenched in alcohol, I think, by Joe Linton and the rest of the squad.
00:55But a great moment, and that's what it's all about.
00:57It's about embracing the success.
01:00You have so many difficult days in football, and this club has had its fair share over
01:04the years.
01:05So, just trying to enjoy the moment and take it all in.
01:08Can you kind of put it into words for your fans when you got your hands on that trophy?
01:11I suppose the media are watching you play tonight.
01:14It made you feel it.
01:15It did, yeah.
01:16I think you're pleased for other people, really.
01:18I'm so pleased for the players.
01:20They've all had different journeys to get to this point, but we've come together as a squad.
01:24I love working with them every day.
01:26It's an honour to be their leader.
01:29Yeah, and for the supporters who came in there.
01:33Thousands today who supported us back home.
01:36Since I've been at the football club, the support we've had home and away has been incredible.
01:40So, I'm just so pleased they have this trophy to end the long wait, and hopefully we can
01:47get some more in the future.
01:49The season is safe, but outside as well.
01:52I just popped my head in earlier.
01:53The Jordan men are crying.
01:55Fifty per cent of them are crying.
01:57Is it what you guys have achieved?
02:00You're not going to forget what's going to happen then?
02:02Well, it's amazing what football can do.
02:04I think it's one of the rare sports that has that ability to give people days that they'll
02:10always remember.
02:12With such a long wait for a trophy, this will be a day that I'm sure everyone will never
02:16forget.
02:17I certainly won't.
02:18I think there are different ways to win trophies.
02:21Today we won it in the best way.
02:23We played a brilliant opponent, who have been the best team in the Premier League all season
02:26by a long way.
02:27For me, we were the better team.
02:30Thanks, Keith.
02:31We'll get through as many as we can.
02:32We'll go to Nisha, then Damien.
02:34Eddie, there were a few other fans who wanted to see Scranton down at Burn today.
02:40How happy are you for him, and what has he achieved this weekend?
02:44Yeah, what a week.
02:46What a few days for him.
02:47But I thought his performance today was colossal for us in the back.
02:52I thought him and Fabi played really well today.
02:54Aerially, they were excellent.
02:55Both teams were actually quite direct today.
02:57We knew Liverpool had a direct threat.
02:59And then you talk about his goal.
03:02We've been working on those corners tirelessly for two weeks.
03:05We've had mixed success, I can be honest, in training.
03:08And he's delivered one from a long range as well.
03:12I thought it was an incredible header.
03:14It's so fitting that it's him that scored that goal.
03:16A long wait for even a goal at Wembley.
03:19Yeah, a brilliant moment.
03:21How will you celebrate?
03:23You've got many of your players going away for international duty.
03:26You've got the international break.
03:27But this is a huge moment in the history of the club,
03:30in the history of Newcastle as a city.
03:32Will there be a big celebration to come?
03:34Yeah, I think there has to be.
03:36I certainly will be encouraging it, which is very rare for me, believe me.
03:41Usually I'm the other way.
03:42But no, we have to celebrate.
03:43We have to celebrate, hopefully, with our supporters,
03:45with everyone that's waited so long.
03:48It is difficult because it's international duty.
03:50Players will be going off here, they're going everywhere.
03:52We're going to Dubai tomorrow.
03:54So there won't be long to spend together.
03:56But hopefully it will be really enjoyable.
03:59Thanks, Nisha.
04:00Damian, then Craig.
04:01How important is Stepping Stone to the club's journey?
04:05I think it's really important.
04:06I think, hopefully, with one, it can become more.
04:10There's no guarantee, though.
04:11But I just think it proves we can do it.
04:14I've never had any doubts about our ability to lift our game.
04:19But you don't get many shots at this.
04:21You don't get many shots at a cup final.
04:24Today we had to try and take our opportunity,
04:26and that's where the players delivered under pressure so well and so impressively.
04:30It also proved that we can mix our game against the very, very best.
04:33Now the challenge for us is to try and get there more often,
04:36as in lifting our game, like we did today.
04:39Craig.
04:40Jürgen, you've worked for two weeks at Taylor Steel,
04:42a corner routine, to be in Man Utd.
04:44What's the secret as to how you set up that team, prepare that team,
04:48to be, in reality, so different from what we've actually seen in recent weeks
04:52in the Premier League?
04:53It felt like a real victory for coaching and preparation?
04:56The actual work for the game started after West Ham.
05:00We didn't do any work before West Ham,
05:03but we did in certain things, like the set plays, as I say.
05:07No team shape as such, but the set plays,
05:09we started a while back because I think we all sat down two weeks away
05:14from the final and said,
05:16the set play can win us the game, right?
05:18Let's see what we can do.
05:19Let's go into the detail that could swing it for us and not trying to be clever
05:24or give ourselves a pat on the back at all.
05:27It's all up to the players to deliver that.
05:29I mean, Kieran's ball, Dan's header,
05:31Dan's got so much to do from that distance,
05:33but little things can make a difference.
05:35So, yeah, that's what we did.
05:38I'll go to Martin, Luke and then Lee.
05:41Congratulations, Eddie.
05:42What was your emotion when that final was delivered?
05:46I don't know.
05:47So many different thoughts go running through your head.
05:51I thought we'd made it difficult for ourselves when we conceded the goal.
05:54Typical us, really, that we'd been so good during the game
05:57and then I thought their goal was a handball,
05:59then it was offside and that left a really tricky spell at the end.
06:03About 10 minutes, I think it was.
06:05Managed that 10 minutes really, really well.
06:07So then there's the relief that we got through that.
06:10And then I think naturally you end up thinking of the players, the staff,
06:14but also the people that aren't with you, like for me, my mum.
06:18Family members, go to them and just think of all the hard sacrifices,
06:22hard work that they gave you as a child
06:24to give you the opportunity to have a good life, really.
06:26Sorry to tell you very unfortunately,
06:28but did you feel that when you were climbing the stairs?
06:31Yeah, I think you think that you're getting help from above
06:35and you're getting support.
06:37I just always had the thought that I want to try and make my family proud
06:40and now, of course, I have three boys and I want to try and make them proud too.
06:43Have you seen your boys yet?
06:44No.
06:46Luke?
06:47Turns out the club wasn't first.
06:50Had to be you, didn't it?
06:53Yeah, I mean, you didn't like any of that talk that said,
06:57well, not concerning words, but you said it was pretty much nonsense
07:00and you had to control what you could control.
07:02Have you done something that only a club can manage to do for 70 years?
07:07Yeah, I'm a firm believer that you're in control of everything.
07:12So for me, we try to focus on the performance.
07:16I have to compliment Liverpool.
07:18Liverpool have been the best team in the Premier League by a mile this year consistently.
07:21So we knew we had to raise our game today to have any chance of beating them.
07:25We almost needed everyone to give their maximum game and I felt they did.
07:30I have to play compliments how Liverpool handled themselves after
07:33because we've been there two years ago.
07:34It's a horrible feeling.
07:35I thought they were absolute class.
07:36The manager, the players, really, really good.
07:40But yeah, the curse stuff for me never existed.
07:42It was in our hands.
07:44Where would you like to play?
07:47For me, it's just about trying to give my best every day still to Newcastle.
07:50That won't change.
07:53We'll really enjoy this moment.
07:55But we're not really looking too far beyond.
07:57Thanks, Luke.
07:58Leigh Ryder?
07:59It's obviously a win for the team and your staff.
08:01It feels like a real win for the city and the people in the city.
08:04You were a club and that was reflected on the picture there.
08:07Yeah, I agree, Lee.
08:08I think it was a victory for everyone.
08:10It wasn't a victory for me or the players as such.
08:13It was a victory for the club, the city.
08:16Everyone that's given loyalty and support to the club
08:20and has seen some really disappointing days
08:23over the last number of decades.
08:27The pain of certain defeats.
08:29Today's a really sweet moment and I encourage everyone to enjoy.
08:40I think it's sinking in.
08:43Very, very proud.
08:44Just very proud to manage the club.
08:45Very proud to represent the players.
08:47Very proud to represent the staff as well.
08:49We've got some people who have worked at this football club for a long, long time.
08:52It's great to see them so happy.
09:06Yeah, I'd agree with that.
09:07I think we do.
09:08I think we've got some players that have given so much to the club.
09:11They've given so much for a long time.
09:16And I think what we've done really well is we've stayed united and together.
09:19It's very difficult, I think, when you're the same group going again and again and again.
09:23And we've got a really small pool of players,
09:25but they continue to give more and represent the club in the right way.
09:29So I'm really, really pleased.
09:30I could go through loads of individual stories and say how pleased I am for them.
09:33I won't have time to do that,
09:34but you know how much this means to everyone in the squad.
09:41You're up a competency spot next season in the play-offs.
09:45That must be a big added bonus as well.
09:47Yeah, well, I wasn't aware of that.
09:49You've just told me something, so thank you.
10:04No, we don't put ourselves in that bracket.
10:06I think we'll let other people decide that when we're probably long gone from the football club.
10:12But I think our job is to give our best every day.
10:15And that will never change.
10:17That won't change now, in this moment.
10:19And we have to represent the club in the right way,
10:21which I think these players have done really, really well.
10:23They're very professional.
10:25I encourage them not to be professional tonight
10:28and just not think about tomorrow too much
10:30and just be together and enjoy the moment.
10:33And then we'll start to think of the future after.
10:58Yeah, I think it's huge.
11:00I think the supporters have to come and really enjoy watching that team play.
11:04And they've got their heroes in the team, and I encourage that.
11:06And I do think we've got some iconic players
11:08who will go down in, to Dom's point, as legends of the football club in the future.
11:14But they've still got to sort of cement that legacy.
11:17We've got a really talented group of players.
11:19But we've also got some really great stories in there too.
11:22Players that have fought against the odds to end up in this position
11:25and continue to excel and do well.
11:28OK, sorry to anyone we've missed.
11:30We'll finish with Chris and Kieran, please.
11:47Yeah, I don't think we did anything drastically different.
11:50We just tried to take away the distractions for the players, really.
11:56I know we've said it a lot in the build-up,
11:58but the first time we got to Wembley was very emotional.
12:01The first final.
12:02And you could sense that in the players.
12:04You could sense that in the crowd.
12:06And I don't think it necessarily helped our performance.
12:08And I think that was the reason that we lost.
12:12So this time we tried to take away as many distractions as we could.
12:15We tried to make it very similar to a Premier League build-up.
12:19I think staying at a quieter hotel away from any distractions
12:22was really important, actually.
12:24But again, it didn't decide the game.
12:26The players decided the game on the pitch.
12:28And I'm a firm believer in that.
12:29You can sometimes look back with hindsight and make bad calls.
12:32The players did so well on the pitch today, and that's why we won.
12:35Kieran, last one, please.
12:46Yeah, we respect Liverpool,
12:47but I don't think you can go on a pitch and fear anybody.
12:50I think you have to really believe in yourself.
12:52And I felt we did today.
12:53The players knew this was the moment.
12:55A really solid start to the game.
12:57We grew into it.
12:58We had the better chances.
13:00I don't think anyone could begrudge us the win today.
13:02And the manner of it, even making it close at the end,
13:05the way we managed it, as I said earlier,
13:06the last part of the game shows that we had the right mindset and qualities today.
13:10Thanks, everybody.
13:11Cheers.