Champions League ‘hangover’ to blame for dropped points at West Ham: Newcastle United boss Eddie Howe

LONDON: Manager Eddie Howe has admitted that Newcastle United were suffering from a Champions League hangover as they let points slip at West Ham.

The Magpies hammered Qatar-owned Paris Saint-Germain at St. James’ Park on Wednesday, to send shockwaves around European football.

Howe’s side then followed that up with a 2-2 draw at last season’s Europa Conference League winners on Sunday.

Newcastle fell behind to a Tomas Soucek opener before a quickfire, second-half double from Alexander Isak flipped the game on its head. But with just a minute left on the clock, Mohammed Kudus popped up with a late equalizer for the Hammers.

And while the point stretched Newcastle’s unbeaten run to seven games in all competitions, the head coach noted that his side were not at their fluent best, although the absence of key men Anthony Gordon, Joelinton, Harvey Barnes, Joe Willock, and Sven Botman definitely, in Howe’s eyes, played its part.

“We were missing some big players today and that makes the recent games all the more positive for us because when you’re stretched, you need the depth of your squad,” the 45-year-old said.

“I think we’ve shown that. The players that have come in have been brilliant for us, but I thought we missed Joelinton. We’ve definitely

missed Joe Willock for such a long time. Sven (Botman), Anthony (Gordon), these players can make a difference, especially in a tight game when we’re fatigued and 2-1 up.

“That’s something we need to look at and hopefully we can get those players back in the next two weeks.

“It was a frustrating game for us, probably a hangover from midweek. A really good response in the second half but we’re frustrated not to get over the line.

“I think we did really well in the second