Eddie Howe denies ‘hard but fair’ Newcastle are out to ruffle Champions League feathers

DORTMUND: Eddie Howe has dismissed the suggestion that Newcastle United are out to intentionally ‘ruffle the feathers’ of the established Premier League and Champions League elite.

The Magpies’ head coach said his players are only ever focused on winning, no matter the opposition or the cost.

Newcastle take on Borussia Dortmund at the Signal Iduna Park on Tuesday night in what very much feels like a must-win encounter. They arrive in Germany in good form, having beaten both Manchester United at Old Trafford and Arsenal at St. James’ Park in the Premier League in the past week.

Their typically physically robust style has got under the skin of a number of rival coaches, with Gunners’ boss Mikel Arteta the latest to complain about Howe and his players. It has prompted some to compare Newcastle and their coach to Atletico Madrid and Diego Simeone. It is not a comparison Howe seems to mind, though he does not believe it is justified.

“I’ve got no desire to upset anybody, just to try and win,” he said. “However we do that, I’ve got no issue with that, as long as we do it within the spirit of the game.

“We are competitive. We’re hugely ambitious and full compliments to the players on how they handled (Saturday’s 1-0 victory over Arsenal).

“We’re not intentionally ruffling any feathers, we’re just trying to win. I want the players to stand up for each other. I want them to play competitive football. I want us to be strong in certain moments, which we have to be, and I think we did all of those things on Saturday. I’ve got no issue at all with how we played.”

Asked about the Atletico comparisons, he added: “We just play the game. Look, I think we play hard. We play the game in a really strong way because we want to win.