Howe ‘desperate’ for Newcastle to win Carabao Cup and end fans’ wait | Newcastle United

Eddie Howe reckons Newcastle’s season could hinge on Wednesday night’s Carabao Cup quarter-final against Brentford. “I feel like we can still win the season and be very successful,” Howe said. “But games like this will be crucial to that. We can achieve great things, but the opposite can also happen if we don’t have the right attitude to the game.”

Winning the Carabao Cup would make Howe – a losing finalist against Manchester United in 2023 – the first English manager to lift the trophy since Steve McClaren at Middlesbrough in 2004. “I don’t think about that too much,” he said. “It’s for Newcastle, trying to end this club’s wait for a trophy is the burning desire.”

Newcastle have not won a domestic cup competition since the 1955 FA Cup. “We want to be the team that gets over the finish line and achieves something special,” Howe said. “Nothing is taken for granted, but we know that if we perform at the right level we can compete with anyone in the division.”

Howe’s team has been extremely inconsistent in recent weeks and the coach’s scope for maneuver in the transfer market continues to be severely limited by the Premier League’s winning and sustainability rules.

“I would say PSR has had a dramatic impact on the speed of our journey,” said Howe, who was tasked by the club’s Saudi ownership team with picking up silverware and turning his team into European regulars. “That obviously reflects our ability to change things as quickly as possible in terms of winning trophies.

“But if I don’t have a burning desire to win a trophy of mine, then something is wrong. That’s what we’re here for. I really want to win a trophy for this football club, for the fans, for their patience and for the support I have received here. I wouldn’t like anything more.

Howe is aware his side are fully capable of underperforming, as they did in the 4-2 defeat at Brentford in the league this month. “We definitely want to perform much better,” he said.

“Brentford are a strong team when it comes to set pieces, they have good squad strength, some dangerous players and they can switch well. They have different threats that we need to nullify and hopefully we will do a better job.”

Should Newcastle reach the semi-finals in the new year, Howe, who expects his spending power to be severely restricted in January, does not expect to be able to strengthen his squad through loan deals. “The reality of credit is very difficult. Who would like to help us? Not many football clubs.”