Eddie Howe spoke about the state of his squad before Newcastle United face Nottingham Forest.
The Toon had been handling the difficulty of juggling continental competition with action in the Premier League until March, but the presence of just league football in the schedule has not solved their form. Losses against Sunderland, Crystal Palace, Bournemouth and Arsenal followed the 9-3 aggregate defeat against Barcelona, and the pressure has been piling up on the Newcastle manager.
‘It's been a huge frustration’
Howe was relieved to see his players put in a performance that earned a 3-1 triumph over Brighton last weekend. But injuries and uncertain futures continue to cloud circumstances within the group.
"He's done incredibly well, Malick Thiaw. I think he's been a model of consistency. He's very level-headed, very good character, goes about his work in a really uncomplicated way, wants to train, wants to play. He obviously had a good season last year with AC Milan. We were very keen to get that deal done quite early. Thankfully we were able to beat off a couple of other clubs to get him.
"But every transfer is so different I don't think you can use that as a template. I think every transfer in its own right is different. So yeah, that would be a good one. We'd love to replicate but I don't think there's any guarantee that that will be the case.
“It was a really innocuous moment at training on Tuesday. There was no one around Lewis Miley, no other player involved. He slipped and went down. Probably at that moment we thought maybe just a twist or something, nothing too serious. But he was unable to continue. Pretty early we became aware that it was more serious than we thought.
"That's the fragile nature of a professional footballer's career and now he faces a few months out. We hope that he'll be back in and around pre-season. It's a real shame because he's been playing really really well. Outstanding in recent weeks.
“We missed him when he got his injury last time. So a real blow for us and also for Lewis. Knowing his strength of character he'll be back better than ever but it's going to be a blow for him and for us.
"It's been a huge frustration for him and I think he's had some really unfortunate moments. This one was a slip, there was nothing that he could have done about it. We've tried to manage his workload, we've tried to look after him.
"We are aware of his age, we've tried to nurture him to a degree and not overload him too much. It is part of the job that you will get these moments. Athletically, he is outstanding. And his body is strong. But he's still growing to a degree and finding himself. So it's all part of the process. I'm sure he'll come back a lot stronger.
"We anticipate him being in and around pre-season. Injuries all have... different things can happen in between. But our plan would be that he be in and around training during pre-season. Whether he's playing those games, those pre-season matches, let's wait and see.
"But I think the most important thing for Lewis in the short-term is just to relax, focus on the injury. The surgery went really well, everything's looking in a good place. I don't want to put too much pressure on him or give time scales because that can be negative.
"I'm not 100% sure, his situation was slightly unique. Obviously, Fabian Schar was very close to returning to full fitness and then got this infection and it's something now he's building up his strength and his resilience again.
"He's looking a lot more positive in his body at the moment. Whether or not he's going to be fit enough to take to the pitch again between now the end of season let's wait and see."
Livramento on the road back
"Tino Livramento is doing well. He's really improving. He's back running again. He's on the grass.
"I don't think he'll be back this season. I think we could possibly push him maybe for the Fulham game but I think that would be silly really on his behalf. I think let's let him recover and get a good summer behind him.
"I always do what's right for the team and best for the football club.
Gordon situation addressed
"Those comments [about commitment] weren't related to Anthony Gordon, they were general. I like to think I've been consistent with that in my time as manager here and that's not going to change now.
“He wouldn't be in the squad if that was [not] the case, and as I said many times, I don't judge that on communications elsewhere, I do that with my relationship with the player and how I see them train.”
