Allan Saint-Maximin handed "difficult" challenge by Newcastle boss Eddie Howe

Eddie Howe has challenged Allan Saint-Maximin to couple his individual flair with being a team player - after the winger faced fan criticism.

The Newcastle boss admits he is striking a difficult balance with star man Saint-Maximin as he moulds the Toon into a tight, hard working unit. Howe wants the French wizard to hit the heights of the home game against Everton at the start of February, and knows he is a match winner.

But the 25-year-old has hit a rough patch suffering a bout of covid, and minor calf and groin injuries, with some fans questioning his form. Howe said: “I think for a player of his type, consistency will always be an issue because it’s very difficult to do what he does. But as long as we get the buy-in from him to the team, and he is really committed to the things he finds more difficult, which would be recovery runs, working off the ball… as long as we see that, the other things will take care of themselves.

“I think over coaching him is a negative. Part of the strength of Allan is that you can almost let him do his stuff - but he needs to be free to do that. You don’t want him over-thinking the game because his natural talent is so impulsive. So I’ve tried to strike that balance. I don’t hear or read comments (from fans about ASM), but it’s also healthy because it means I judge him on what I see and I’ve got very high expectations for Maxi as I have seen what he can deliver when he is at his best.

“You go back to the Everton game at home and he was absolutely electric that day, very, very difficult to play against. I judge him on those levels. You have to understand each player’s strengths and weaknesses.

"You will never make Maxi be like another winger, he’s unique, and the team has to work around