Eddie Howe has warned Newcastle’s Premier League rivals that his club have no qualms about getting under the skin of the top-flight establishment.Newcastle’s impressive rise to fourth place in the Premier League has been fuelled by Howe’s astute management and the financial muscle of the club’s Saudi-backed owners.But Newcastle’s ascent hasn’t gone down well with the teams being edged out, including Saturday’s opponents Liverpool.The Reds are languishing in ninth place in the Premier League ahead of their trip to St James’ Park.Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp complained about Newcastle’s time-wasting during their meeting earlier this season and has since taken aim at the Magpies’ spending power.ACCC: Ghanaian clubs send solidarity message to Atsu, vow to win tournament for himBut Howe made it clear his team is not there to be liked, with winning their only focus.”We are not here to do anything other than try to win the game we are competing in, and to not be the team that everyone looks at and thinks, ‘Good losers’. That’s not what we want to be,” Howe told reporters on Friday.”That is what I am trying to instil in the players every day. I want to build a winning mentality and culture.”Newcastle will be looking for revenge over Liverpool after the 2-1 defeat they suffered at Anfield in August, courtesy of Fabio Carvalho’s strike eight minutes into stoppage-time.That loss was Newcastle’s last in the Premier League as they embarked on a 17-game unbeaten run and Howe is determined to keep the streak going.”I don’t need any reminding of how painful losing is. I did most of that during my playing career and I hated that feeling and I tried to do everything I could to not feel that going into the next game,” Howe said.”As a manager it is probably 10 times worse, maybe 100 times worse. I hated that feeling as a player and I actually detest it as a manager, so you’re preparing and working to try and stay away from that feeling for as long as possible.”Jürgen Klopp on Newcastle 🗣“Eddie [Howe] is doing an exceptional job. The financial possibilities they will have in the future is exceptional but so far it’s not because of that.”Bang on. ⚫️⚪️ pic.twitter.com/6mpgUEwSqx— Footy Accumulators (@FootyAccums) February 17, 2023 Klopp has challenged Liverpool to win Saturday’s “massive” clash at Newcastle as the Reds look to climb back into the race to finish in the Premier League’s top four.Klopp’s side are languishing in ninth place and sit nine points adrift of fourth-placed Newcastle.Liverpool ended a four-game winless run in the Premier League by beating Everton 2-0 in Monday’s Merseyside derby.But Klopp knows a victory against Newcastle is essential if Liverpool are to have any chance of qualifying for the Champions League via a top four finish.”It’s a massive game. If we want to reach something this season, we have to chase everybody and especially the teams ahead of us in the table,” Klopp told reporters on Friday.”Newcastle is a tough place to go, was always for us, hopefully we can build on the performance from Monday because that was obviously the main difference to other games we won.”After the World Cup we won two games but we were not overly happy with the way we played, so you cannot really build on it. This time it was different. It looked like us.”People said after the game that Everton didn’t do this or that as much as they did against Arsenal. I really think it was because we did particularly well. That’s a point to prove again tomorrow.”##EDITORS_CHOICE##Liverpool have a game in hand on Newcastle and a win at St James’ Park would revive their top four hopes.Klopp’s men can take heart from their 2-1 victory over the Magpies in August, although Newcastle have gone unbeaten in 17 top-flight games since then.Newcastle boss Howe took exception to recent critical comments from Klopp about the spending power of the Saudi-backed Magpies.But the German, whose side face Spanish giants Real Madrid in the first leg of a last 16 Champions League tie next week, was more complimentary about Howe on Friday.”Eddie’s doing an exceptional job, absolutely exceptional. The financial possibilities they have or will have in the future, it’s exceptional, but so far it’s not because of that, not at all,” Klopp said.”Eddie came there in a difficult situation. It was building on the team they had, improving players who were there. It speaks volumes about the manager, how much he turned it around and made them a proper threat for everybody.”Liverpool centre-back Virgil Van Dijk, fit after a hamstring injury, could make his first appearance since the start of January after being on the bench against Everton.”Yesterday he looked absolutely ready. I think today he will look the same and then we make a decision,” Klopp said.Liverpool are set to be boosted by the return of defender Virgil van Dijk against Newcastle United on Saturday. pic.twitter.com/8xFzZDbt4u— The Athletic | Football (@TheAthleticFC) February 17, 2023 ENGLISH PREMIER LEAGUESaturday15.30: (4.50) Aston Villa (3.60) Arsenal (1.94)18.00: (1.96) Brentford (3.40) Crystal Palace (4.20)18.00: (1.79) Brighton (3.70) Fulham (5.40)18.00: (1.43) Chelsea (4.50) Southampton (8.50)18.00: (2.55) Everton (3.30) Leeds (3.10)18.00: (9.00) Nott.Forest (5.20) Man.City (1.36)18.00: (1.73) Wolverhampton (3.70) Bournemouth (5.90)20.30: (2.65) Newcastle (3.35) Liverpool (2.70)Sunday17.00: (1.68) Man.Utd. (3.80) Leicester (5.50)19.30: (1.89) Tottenham (3.70) West Ham (4.60)***odds are subject to change
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